A Thousand Tries
by Bluer Than The TARDIS
Summary: There are many people who are familiar with the man called the Doctor. But none as familiar as her. How could it be that this abandoned, lone teenager knows all about him; practically from start to finish? It's a twisted, upside-down life for Emma, no more so than when she quite literally bumps into her worst nightmare. OC Companion and OC Doctor. Season 9 spoilers.
1. Isn't this supposed to be Sci-Fi?

**Hey everyone! This is my first fanfiction so I'm sorry if it's a little sketchy. Hopefully my writing will get better with experience. So, without further ado, let's begin the story!**

My life is like constantly trying to convince yourself that you can watch a 45-minute tv show in 20 minutes.

You desperately want to believe that it's possible, that as if you wish it hard enough, you'd be able to defy the laws of time and everything would just fall into place.

But unfortunately, it's called reality for a reason.

That's why I'm stuck under a car with a horde of mind-controlled animalistic humans trying to tear me apart. Reality, right? What a joke. But it was hard to find any humour in my situation at the time with the zombie-like creatures clawing at my body. I had been lying on my back uncomfortably for minutes and could feel the panic that was beginning to rise in my throat as it was starting to threaten any chance of staying alive that I had. But knowing from experience that I mustn't allow that to happen, I took a few deep breaths of the dirty air, my head slowly clearing and immediately changing tasks to finding a way out of my current predicament.

From what I could see, there were only two options. One: Grab something that would be functional as a weapon, crawl my way out from under the car, and hit anything that moves. Although I must admit that this one is kind of a death wish. Two: Find some way to get rid of all the bloodthirsty humans trying to claw my eyes out first and then escape.

Deciding to put my escape plan for later on hold and focus on not being scratched to death right then and there, I began searching for something to keep my attackers at bay, figuring that having something which could be used to whack people with would be a good idea anyways. Unfortunately, with my attention being zeroed in on finding an object that wasn't on top of me, I didn't notice the woman that had begun to crawl under the car until she was digging her fingernails so deep into my arm that I thought she'd cut right through it.

Even if the pain didn't make me gag, the image almost did.

I did yelp, though, and immediately elbowed her right in the face, making her fall unconscious. I tore my arm away from her and surveyed her fallen body. Luckily, it was blocking the other peoples' access to me, ceasing the majority of their scratch attack. Unluckily, it was blocking my access to an exit. So much for option number one.

That left me with - you guessed it - option number two. But how, exactly, was I going to make about a hundred people just disappear like smoke?

And then it hit me. Fuel! I was under a car, for crying out loud. How the hell did I not think of it earlier?

I used the little light that I had, focusing my eyes until my head hurt, to make out shapes and find the exhaust pipe. I ignored the pain from my bleeding left arm as I grabbed and tugged at the pipe. It had stubbornly stayed in place, but I refused to let go and pulled at it with all of my strength. Eventually, the pipe tore loose and the smell of fuel hit my sinuses like a truck. But not even a second later I was feeling the fluid drip onto my clothes and form a puddle beneath me, which was unfortunate because now if I set the fuel aflame, I'd be a roasted marshmallow. Plus there was also the problem of how I was even going to get so much as a spark into the fuel in the first place.

"C'mon, think!" I muttered to myself, tapping my head softly like a drum.

But it was hard for me to hear anything except for the sound of scraping, although I think I had heard someone's jaw dislocating somewhere along the line. That's where I remembered the box of matches that I kept inside my right combat boot. I always keep a box of matches somewhere on me in case of emergencies. You never know when you're going to get stranded somewhere when you lead a life like mine. Pulling the box out, I recalled the being-burned-alive problem. But I had already thought of a solution for that.

Keeping the box of matches firmly gripped in my hand like the lifeline they were, I grabbed hold of the underside of the car, using it as leverage to pull myself underneath the next car, and then the next. The wild humans followed me like a pack of wolves and I thanked my lucky stars that the spaces between the cars were too tight for them to go through.

I pulled out a match from the box and struck it across the top twice before it lit. Angling myself the best I could in my restricted area, I carefully tossed the match back down to where I just was. For a moment, I thought that it wouldn't reach the pool of fluid, and was caught off guard when chaos erupted right into my sight. The sound was deafening, but the visual was just plain disturbing. I could see the burning face of the man whose jaw I had heard dislocating as he tried to climb under the car, but mainly it was all white. A few seconds later the car in front of me exploded as well, and I knew that it was now or never. I rolled out from under the car and lashed out in every direction, sprinting for dear life. One of them had managed to grab my injured arm as I heard the car I had just been taking shelter under explode, but I swiftly punched her square in the face and kept running. I was unable to taste anything other than smoke and I hadn't even noticed that my jeans and boots were on fire until I was half a block away from the ferals, but once I did I thrashed my legs out wildly trying to put it out.

When I was finally safely hidden around the corner of an alleyway, I couldn't help but peek around. What I saw then made me feel a pang of remorse.

The people were screaming from the flames surrounding their bodies, running around madly in circles. I frowned. These were people. Innocent people that had been brainwashed by some freak who I didn't even know the name of. They probably had families somewhere if they weren't also being burned alive in front of me. They didn't deserve to be burnt to ashes, that wasn't what I was meant to do. I'm supposed to save people, not kill them. The only thing that helped me to put my mind at ease even the tiniest bit was that they would never know the savagery of their deaths.

I pulled away from the scene, deciding that torturing myself wouldn't do any good, masked my face with a neutral expression. Not that it would really matter anyways. I had realized before that everybody besides me was brainwashed at this point. Which brings up a pressing question: why am I not running around as a psycho like everybody else?

I had been so distracted by my thoughts that I was only knocked out of my trance when I knocked into somebody else. My eyes wide, I gasped and looked up, ready to see a snarling mess with crazed eyes. Except I found perhaps the exact opposite. He was about 6' tall, wearing a clean brown leather jacket over a white t-shirt of the band Queen. He had your everyday blue bootcut jeans on and his laced-up brown boots were nothing if not worn. What caught my attention the most was his piercing eyes. They were a shade of blue even lighter than the sky and seemed to be much older than the mid-thirties years of age that his face showed. The brunette man was looking down at me with one eyebrow raised and a glint of impishness glowing in his eyes. He sure didn't look like a feral. He was much too composed; a feral would have been grabbing at my throat the moment it saw me.

"You should be more careful around these parts, little girl." And he definitely wasn't from around here either. Not with that British accent.

That last piece of info was swept away from my attention, however, when those last two words slipped out of his mouth. "Look, I may only be 14, but I am _perfectly_ capable of looking out for myself." I retorted, poking him in the chest on the enunciated word.

He smiled at me fondly and replied with, "I wouldn't doubt it."

His friendliness had caught me off guard, and I couldn't help but be suspicious as I narrowed my eyes. "Do I know you?"

"Oh, no. No, you don't. The other way around, really."

Very suspicious. But I had a theory.

"Time traveler?"

I know what you're probably thinking right now. It might be somewhere along the lines of, "isn't it a bad idea to just ask random people if they're time travelers?" Well, it's only bad if you're not a time traveler and if you actually give a rat's ass as to what people think of you. Neither of those things apply to me.

"Caught on quick, just like always."

I knew that if I continued to keep skirting around the point, we could be in that alleyway for minutes. And as far as I knew, we didn't have minutes, so I leaped right for the million dollar question.

"Right, who the hell are you?"

A smirk wormed it's way across the aggravating man's face. "There she is. The blunt, straight-to-the-point, _feisty_ Emma that I know."

I was expecting him to know my name, but hearing it come out of this stranger's mouth still caught me off guard somehow. To me, my name was more than just a label of what to this mess of a human. It was more like a promise, a reminder. Of what? Maybe you'll find out someday. Only level 14 friends get to know my tragic backstory.

Despite my discomfort, I replied practically immediately with my voice of steel. Nobody got past that one. "Answer the goddamn question."

He sounded exasperated when he finally answered. "Oh, all right Emmy," I wanted to punch him in the face, but the target suddenly turned serious, "I'm the Doctor."

God _fucking_ damn it.

And the winner for the universe's most bad luck goes to Emma. The Doctor is the last person I ever wanted to meet. I've always feared that running into him would entail a lot of awkwardness, anger, and jumping through hoops that could really be avoided. And from what I could tell so far, I was right. Heck, I didn't even know it was him and I was irritated by him.

For a few moments, all I could do was stare at him blankly. If any savages showed up at that moment, I would have willingly jumped right into their arms. The small alleyway we were in seemed like the most intimidating thing in the world; I wanted out. The last of my worst dreams had finally come true and I knew that this was either going to end with me being either terribly confused or miserable. Or perhaps dead.

 _Like those people you just burnt to a crisp._

I shoved that thought to the back of my mind. There were more important matters at hand, like the one standing in front of me that's waiting for a response.

I eventually was able to get my voice back, saying, "What are you doing here?"

He - _The Doctor_ seemed troubled at this, knitting his eyebrows together in confusion before speaking in his usual eccentric persona. "I was planning on heading for Mesopotamia. But then there was the unexpected spike of artron energy in the middle of a small town in the US of A and, well, how could I resist? Landed a bit late, although, I could ask you the same question."

I sighed. Of course he messed up the destination. That would never change. "I was also planning on going somewhere different but my vortex manipulator malfunctioned."

The Time Lord scrunched up his nose at the mention of my vortex manipulator. "Why don't you just pop over to your intended destination, then?"

"It short-circuited. No idea why, though."

He bit his lip and I tensed. If the Doctor was nervous about something then it was definitely cause for alarm. "I might. Follow me."

I cautiously crept around the corner at which he disappeared, and I lit up as a wide grin was plastered across my face. Right there, in front of me, was that lovely, beautiful, shining police box with the bluest blue you could imagine. She even seemed to glow, which would make sense, seeing as she was…. alive.

That's when it hit me. That's when I understood why my vortex manipulator short-circuited. The energies didn't mix, of course they didn't. The TARDIS was alive, right in front of me, and it all added up. At first, I had thought that it was the Doctor who was out of place. But the TARDIS was alive and healthy, and that could only mean one thing. It wasn't the Doctor who was in the wrong universe: it was me.

At least that explained why the air tasted like Yovolian pineapples.

But that led to the revelation of another problem. If I was able to travel between universes, then the walls of reality were breaking down. Again.

"Ah, shit."

"Language."

"Can it, Lassie. We've got a real problem on our hands. Two of them, actually."

"Yeah, well, let's deal with the one in our faces first. What do you know about the psycho humans already?"

I told him everything I knew, which wasn't much. "I'm pretty sure that they're being mind-controlled, or something similar. They attack as soon as you're in their line of sight and they seem willing to do anything to tear us apart; I saw one dislocate his own jaw." I said as I recalled the disturbing sight.

The Doctor nodded at my proclamation, obviously adding pieces together in his head, before stating the exact thing that had been bothering me as well. "The question is, why are they only going crazy for us instead of just attacking each other?"

"Well, what's different about us?"

The answer was, of course, obvious.

"We're time travelers." We declared simultaneously.

"And time travelers," I continued, "absorb artron energy as background radiation, which can be used as a power source."

"Exactly. So whoever or whatever is controlling these people regulated them so that they would only go after artron energy-"

"which is troubling because unless you're a time traveler yourself, you'd have to get artron energy from someone else-"

"meaning that the person in charge knew that we would come here."

I'll admit I was getting kind of freaked out at how we were already finishing each other's sentences in rapid fire. I mean I've known him for what- about five minutes?

"So that leaves the matter of who is controlling them, how they're doing it, and what they want to do with all that artron energy." I continued.

"Well, the mind-controlling part might have something to do with that small chip in their neck."

"The what?"

"You mean haven't noticed it yet? That's slow, especially for you."

I'd like to say I was getting used to him spitting out random information about me, but really, I wasn't. Just how much did he know about me? How close were we? Friends? Good friends? Best friends? Biggest enemies? Probably not that last one. I had about a thousand questions running through my head that were driving me nuts. But I currently had a bigger problem on my hands than my almost non-existent social life.

"Well, perhaps I've been too busy running for my life to notice any damn chips! Just tell me about them."

"They're silver; shaped like a thin, four-pointed star. From what I've seen, they're in every mind-controlled person on the back of their neck. Must hack into their neural centers. Make them go haywire."

I bit back a remark about something having hacked into his neural center with the way his hands were moving all about and instead asked him if he had any idea where the controller was.

"Not a horse's head." Was his reply, to which my face scrunched up. Who the hell says that? "But we can check in the TARDIS."

"Great idea. Let's go before any more of those ferals show-" But alas, my luck never goes quite that far, because I had found myself face to face with one while walking to the TARDIS. And ridiculously, my first thought wasn't to run, it was more along the lines of how the hell I didn't notice it before. "-Up."

I couldn't get another word in before I felt a hand grabbing mine and pulling me away from the snarling human. After straightening myself out, I saw with relief that already distinct brown leather jacket. He was leading me towards the parking lot where I had just been, but I had a better idea.

Pulling my hand from his grasp, I yelled for him to follow me. Instead of heading forwards, I headed to the side. I started scaling the building, getting about five feet up before hearing an "are you crazy" from down below.

"Probably," I yelled back, "but it's our best shot. Those people are incredibly uncoordinated."

The Doctor looked like he wanted to argue but nevertheless started climbing. Admittedly, it was harder for him seeing as he didn't have years of experience of scaling buildings and parkour, so I helped him some; telling him to put his foot here or grab a handhold there. Within about ten minutes we had climbed the small building, leaving our attackers stranded on the ground and clawing at the sides of the shop. Some even managed to lift themselves half a foot off of the ground, only to have gravity pull them back down.

"I'm guessing the TARDIS is out of the question."

"Yup." The Doctor replied, popping the p. "Now, the person controlling this town must be in a place where they'll be able to transmit the signal."

"Someplace big with something round, right?"

"Exactly. And we're not going to find it here." I looked at him curiously and found to my surprise the exact same expression looking back at me. It was only for a second, however, before he switched to his thinking face. "We need to get to higher ground."

Nodding, I averted my attention to finding a taller building. It didn't take long at all for me to find one of the most perfect spots: the towering church, about six or seven buildings down. I pointed it out to the Doctor, running to the edge of the flat rooftop. Below me, the ferals could be heard as clear as day.

"Okay," I grinned, "now we jump."

Giving myself a running start, I pushed off of the building. The familiar feeling of the wind in my face washed over me with a whistle as my feet left the surface. Seconds went by and the sensation of being weightless along with the perception of my heart plummeting to my feet only incited my love for the rush of danger that these situations gave me. What felt like an eternity ended as my feet hit the ground. I splayed my left hand out to balance myself and before I got up, I looked over my shoulder and simply said to the man with his eyebrows raised to his hairline, "your go."

"Right." He breathed.

Following my example, he, rather well might I add, successfully leaped over the gap between the two buildings.

We continued on with our jumping from rooftop to rooftop and I noticed, with much annoyance, that the ferals were following us from down on the streets. But before we knew it, the Doctor and I had found our attention snatched away from the growling humans to instead focus on each other.

"I must admit, that body is quite agile."

"Could clobber you in a race." He boasted.

"Hey now, don't get ahead of yourself. These compliments won't be happening very often."

"I beg to diffe- don't roll your eyes like that, it's rude!"

"This coming from _you_."

"Oi! What's that supposed to mean?"

"You're the King of Rude!"

"I prefer _sass_ , thank you very much."

"Oh, please. Whatever 'sass' you have is from your companions."

"You don't give me enough credit."

"I'd rather not inflate your ego, thanks. It's already the size of the distance it would take to get to Gallifrey and back."

He pouted and I couldn't help but laugh. The face he was making was hilarious to see on a righteous being that was thousands of years old.

"You need some ice for that burn?"

"Oh, shut up!"

The corner of my lips tugged up, deciding that I had annoyed him enough for now.

Soon enough, we had jumped our way to the building before the church. I didn't even hesitate before hurtling myself once more into the air, grabbing onto the window head and hoisting myself up to the roof. Looking back in time to see the Doctor ready to get a running start for his jump, I laid down on the roof of the church, thankful that it was level enough for me to do so without sliding off, and put my hands out. We both knew that it'd take more than beginner's luck to grab onto that window.

"Ready?" He asked.

"As soon as you are."

Grabbing onto his arm with both hands was the easy part. The second part, which was keeping my grip on his arm without falling off of the building myself, was not so easy. The strain of his weight tugging on my arms was tremendous and I felt like they were going to break any second.

"Dear Lord, what are you putting into that body?!" I exclaimed.

Ignoring my comment, the Doctor reached up with his free arm to grab hold of the roof's edge and pull himself up. Both breathing heavily, we stood and looked up to the steeple of the church.

Cracking my knuckles and stretching my arms, I told the Doctor, "You stay here. I'm about to pull an Assassin's Creed."

"A what?"

I didn't answer, only ran to the steeple and immediately started climbing. Upon reaching the top, balancing myself atop the cross with one foot, I could just barely hear the Doctor from down below. "That is nuts. You are _nuts_."

Returning to the task at hand, I looked all over for any round thing that could be used as a transmitter. I risked losing my balance by looking to the side, over my shoulder, anywhere and everywhere for what felt like hundreds of times. But to no avail. No big round thingy was to be seen. But there was something else. There was a yellow house. And whenever I tried to look past said yellow house, it was like some sort of force was pushing my eyesight down.

"Doctor?" I called down to him. The word felt strange on my tongue. Calling someone that… it left a bad feeling reverberating throughout me. In short: I didn't like it. I didn't like it one bit.

"You're stuck on the yellow house, aren't you?"

I let out a half-strangled "yeah".

 _Goddammit, these stupid timelines_.

"Concentrate." The Doctor's voice broke through my thoughts. "Really concentrate."

Following his vague instructions, I blocked out everything else and focused solely on that yellow house. Slowly but surely, I managed to look past the yellow house and see… a fairground.

 _A fairground? You have got to be kidding me. Please tell me that's not where the controller is._

"See it? Whatever's past there must be where the controller is."

 _Damn it._

"Alright," I grumbled as I climbed down, "let's give this person a piece of our mind and get this town back to their canoodling."

"Love to," The Doctor expressed as I landed on the roof, "except there's one obvious problem."

We both looked out to the four streets and one river we had to cross, then to the ferals down below.

"Hmm…" The Doctor's head swiveled around before resting in the direction of my right arm. Following his gaze to my vortex manipulator, I took it off and handed it to him. Immediately, he took out his sonic screwdriver and started working with it. It was a bright violet this time with a silver casing that had multiple holes in it where more light shone through. I could make out plenty of circular Gallifreyan markings all over the device.

"What are you doing?"

"If I can just… rewire this correctly… I'll be able to have this generate a high-voltage electrical charge that when discharged with a blast from my sonic will-"

"-paralyze everyone down below. Nice thinking. I'll map out a route for us to take while you work on that."

Within a minute or two, we'd finished our tasks and were ready to put our plan into action. But first, we needed to gather all of the ferals into one area. That's where I came into play.

After some ridiculous time arguing with the Doctor, I finally managed to persuade him. Resulting in me swinging down to the street in front of the church. As soon as I knew that I had caught the ferals' attention, I dashed inside. Running past all the pews, I only looked back to make sure that all of them were inside. The transept was the turnaround point; the point where I had to face the rampaging horde that wanted to slice me to bits.

I took a deep breath. "Here goes nothing."

One glance at the snarling mass sent my pulse racing. I could feel my heart, and it felt like it was going to beat out of my chest, going: _ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump ba-dump._ The welcoming feeling of adrenaline filled my body and I knew that I had to get to them before they got to me. Charging at them like a racecar, I weaved through, slid, and elbowed any ferals that got in my way.

But not enough of them.

Suddenly, I felt something tug me backward. Realizing that one of the crazies must have grabbed onto my shirt, I tried to break free. At that point, I didn't give a crap about whether or not my shirt got ripped. But before I could get out of the person's grip, more of the ferals had grabbed onto me and soon I was surrounded. I could roughly recognize the feeling of gravity taking hold and making me hit the floor, leaving my body aching. Leaving me vulnerable, the ferals scratched and tore everywhere without mercy. One did end up tearing off the short sleeve of my shirt. The shooting pain throughout my body overwhelmed me and soon enough I was writhing on the floor of the church, screaming. My shrieks of pain echoed throughout the area and my vision of the furious faces above my began to blur as I felt something wet roll down my cheeks.

I was going to die there. I fully knew in my heart and accepted that as a fact. There was no way out, no happy ending, no hand to hold. But of course, I never expected such for myself. And yet, I was afraid. I didn't expect fear. I couldn't understand why, of all times that I have faced certain death, it was now that hopelessness and terror hit me full force.

But then, just as I was beginning to give up, I heard the glorious sound of breaking glass. I had never loved that noise so much in my life as I saw a brown object flying to the center aisle, distracting the ferals. An even better whirring sound filled the air, followed by the not-so-better feeling of being stunned which came into effect. My entire body tensed, feeling like I had one giant cramp and my shoulders sharply hunched up against my own will. The only thing I could really focus on was the intense throbbing in the spot on my back between my shoulder blades when a strong sense of fatigue came over me. With another pain beginning to grow in my chest and leaving me gasping for breath, everything faded into black.

 **I hope you enjoyed chapter 1! I'll make sure to put up chapter 2 soon, and remember, reviews of any shape or form are always appreciated!**


	2. I have a kill me sign on my back

There was only one sound and it was annoying me to pieces.

The steady _beep… beep…_ of a heart monitor rolled through my ears as my eyes opened groggily, only to tightly shut themselves again at the blinding whiteness of the room. Hoping to be able to use at least one of my senses, I tried clenching my hands in and out. I immediately wished I hadn't. Aching muscles were the last thing I needed, but they came anyway. Groaning, deciding that my "feel" sense wasn't currently at it's best, I slowly opened my eyes and let them adjust to my surroundings.

I was on a medical bed of some sort, the scanners showing my medical data to my right.

Not wanting to be as useless as a rock, I tried sitting up, only to have my body scream in protest and my head hit something full force.

"Owww…" I griped after collapsing back onto the bed. Looking up, I could see a glass half-cylinder over me, and looking down, I could see a bandage on my right foot. Looking even further down while lifting up my shirt, I found that my midsection had been bandaged as well.

 _Of course. I must've been burned._

But I was more concerned with my being trapped at the moment. I knocked on the glass as though it were a door. "Hello? Anybody home?" Nothing. "Doctor?" Still nothing. "Sexy? Please tell me that at least you are out there." A few seconds passed, and I nearly jumped out of my skin when the TARDIS interface showed up at the entry door to the med bay in the image of the Doctor. "Oh jeez, give me a warning next time."

"It is not within my programming to deliver messages before materializing." The apparatus replied robotically.

Cue the eye roll. "Ok, you know what? Forget about that, just- can you alert the Doctor to the fact that I am very much awake and very much trapped in his medical equipment?"

"Understood" was all it had said before disappearing.

When the Doctor did walk through the door, he merely glanced my way before heading straight to the computers. He pressed a few keys and the glass cylinder- which I now assumed to be a stasis chamber, slid open.

I did my best to appear leisurely despite the shooting pain dancing through my body as I sat up and shifted myself so that my legs were dangling off the side of the bed. Damn my shortness. Looking up to the only other person in the room, I was taken aback by his guilty look. What did he have to feel bad for?

The Doctor seemed to have other plans when I tried to ask him, and the questions "are you okay" and "how are you feeling" ended up overlapping.

"You go first." I ordered.

"No.. you."

"It wasn't a suggestion, Doctor."

He tried convincing me that it'd be better the other way around, but I wasn't letting up. He needed to learn to talk about his feelings.

In the end, he sighed and answered first. "That shock was stronger than I meant for it to be. You were lucky, I'm not sure how many of the others made it out of that with as little injuries as you did."

I closed my eyes and clenched my teeth. My hands balled into fists and my face twitched as a scowl crossed it. It was just so… _unfair_. It was _so_ unfair; the way the universe worked. Why did I always survive when those with an actual future ahead of them got their lives cut short? Why did the universe always choose me, when all I did was trudge through the days; barely even living. Just surviving. My mind turned back to those ferals- those people in the church. Did they have any conscious? Any idea of what had happened to them? My thoughts were flooded with the images of how when the Doctor and I cleaned up this mess - because we _would_ finish this - how families would be torn apart; how children would be suffering; how people would wake up with second or third degree burns, broken bones, or countless other injuries, with no idea of how they got them. Or how some of them wouldn't wake up at all.

"Although," the Doctor's voice broke me out of my thoughts and I looked up at him curiously, "saying you have overall minimal injuries would be far from the truth."

"Really?" I asked, exasperated, knowing where this was headed. "Now? We're going to have the 'you need to take better care of yourself' talk now?"

"Well, seeing as we're currently positioned in the time vortex, I think now is a perfect time, yeah. And besides, you still haven't answered my question."

"Whoa whoa whoa, back up. We're in the time vortex? Why?"

"Why do you think?"

My jaw dropped slightly. "How long was I out?!"

"Oh, a few weeks."

I rubbed my forehead. _Shit_.

Just then, another thought came to mind. "You haven't already gone to the fairground, have you?"

"I.. might've.. done a little sweep of the place."

"What?!" I was about ready to strangle him. I couldn't believe he had gone ahead and had all of the fun without me!

"Slow down there, tiger! I only looked about to see where the controller would be. I didn't confront them yet. I figured you'd probably beat me to a pulp if I did that. Severely injured or not."

I nodded, thankful for his restraining himself, when that dreaded question came up again.

"So, how are you feeling?" He clasped his hands in front of himself.

"Rather good for being severely injured." My lie was wondrously smooth if I do say so myself. "Fine enough to deal with this goddamn controller."

The Doctor narrowed his eyes. He was giving me that look again. The unreadable look that sent chills down my burnt back and unanswerable questions popping up all over in my head. It was driving me crazy - not knowing. I could read the Doctor as well as River Song could, but this look of his that he was giving me… it was completely unidentifiable. I couldn't stand it.

Trying to pivot my attention to something slightly less infuriating, I stood up, internally cringing from the aches and pains, and headed out of the med bay, saying: "Let's hit the road. We've got a job to finish."

With the Doctor as a guide, we walked through corridor after corridor until we reached the console room.

The console room really gave off a sci-fi vibe this time around. Fairly bright, the walls were a light shade of blue, with sea green "round-thingies" on the walls. The center console was also different shades of blue with circular screens showing writing of circular Gallifreyan. On one side of the wall, there was a huge screen providing a view of what was outside. Along the edge of the room were cushioned chairs and behind those: a railing. Part of the floor surrounding the console was grating, and across from where the Doctor and I entered stood the TARDIS doors.

"So," I began, "you've redecorated."

"Mmhmm."

I couldn't help but grin as what I said next came out. "I don't like it."

"Oh, they never do." The Doctor pretended to sound upset, but in reality he was smiling. He patted the console. "Don't listen to her; you look amazing."

I smiled at the interaction. The Doctor + the TARDIS = Brotp.

"Alright," the Doctor started his usual way of pushing buttons and pulling levers, "let's crash this party."

After one or two painful minutes of being thrown about like a tennis ball thanks to the Doctor's less than superb flying skills, we landed in the fairground.

"So, where is the transmitter, exactly? Is it the ferris wheel?"

"Nope." He pointed to a different ride full of horses in front of us. "It's the carousel."

Following his finger, I was able to see where the carousel stood. Only, I could see it moving around, but no sound came from it. I figured that the controller must've destroyed the sound box in order to keep the place discreet. I couldn't really blame them. I would smash that thing to bits in aggravation as well.

But even as it got closer, I couldn't see a single living thing in sight.

"So… where is the controller, exactly?"

"Around the back."

But when we walked around the carousel, I found it to be empty on that side as well. "So much for that. They must've moved since you were here last. Are you sure you got the timing right?"

At that last part, I had looked up to where the Doctor was standing, only to find him gesturing to my feet.

Taking the hint, I looked down, finding that I was standing on top of an entrance to the town's sewage system.

"You're kidding me, right?"

He wasn't kidding.

 _It's always the nastiest places._ I thought with a sigh as I kneeled down and lifted the hatch.

It took about a second for me to find the controller, seeing as the equipment was positioned right in front of us as we climbed down. Staying near the carousel must've been necessary to operate it.

But when I saw who the controller was, exactly, I was mentally hit with a hard smack in the face.

A Dalek would have been no surprise. A Cyberman was to be expected. But a familiar, and friendly, face was the worst thing I could've imagined.

It was Caleesu. I _knew_ her. Hell, did I know her. She had been around since I was _born_ , for heaven's sake. She was probably the only person left that I knew and trusted in the universe, and here she was. Doing the exact thing I despised most.

"Caleesu?" I could only whisper.

"Emma! What a pleasant surprise! I definitely didn't expect you."

"You." The Doctor stated as he came forward to stand beside me. "What are you doing? You're a loyal Time Lady! You've sworn to never interfere!"

"I've been given a pardon."

"Since when do the Time Lords give pardons?"

"Since it's practically become my job to interfere." Caleesu said, staring right at me.

 _So this is my fault…_

"Things have changed since you last came to visit us, Doctor."

"So I've heard." I could see him glance at me out of the corner of my eye and my heart skipped a beat.

 _Crap. Does he know? Please tell me he doesn't know._

The Doctor didn't give any more attention to that topic, however. "But why? Why are you doing this? What do you need our artron energy for?"

"As a power source, of course. For a weapon."

"A weapon? What weapon?" I jumped in.

"It does molecular separation by electrophoresis. But of course, a job of this scale will require a better power source. What better than artron energy?"

"And what is this weapon going to be used for?" The Doctor inquired.

"To wipe out every last bleeding Dalek in the universe." She said. Her voice was filled to the brim with hate, and it was thanks to that that I figured out what this was all about.

It was about her husband, Fortun. He had been shot and killed by a Dalek when I was seven years old. This was for revenge.

I frowned; my heart feeling heavy. This was not the Caleesu I knew.

"Are you crazy?!" The Doctor erupted. "If just one tiny thing goes wrong with whatever your ridiculous plan is, then the second Time War could be upon us!"

"Oh, Caleesu…" I said with pity, "what happened to you?"

She stared at me coldly. "You did, _Emmy_." Caleesu spoke my old nickname with disgust, and at that, my pity turned to rage.

"You… you're blaming this on me?! How dare you? I did everything you ever told me to and what do you do to thank me? You leave! You _abandoned_ me! I haven't seen you for seven years!"

"How long do you think I've been here?" The Time Lady replied calmly. "Patience sure does pay off."

I gaped at her.

"Now, the Doctor, he was who I was waiting for. I had sent that spike of artron energy up through the carousel knowing he wouldn't be able to stop himself from checking it out. You, on the other hand, were just a bonus. Aren't you supposed to be in another dimension, missy?" She asked sweetly.

"Don't talk to me like that." I grit my teeth together. "You lost the right to long ago."

"Oh well, I suppose. But I must say: I'm sorry, Emma. I truly am. We had some wonderful times together, didn't we? But now that you've met the Doctor, we're going to have to kill you."

 **Sorry that this chapter is so short! The next might be short as well, but I'll be sure to have it up soon. Also, credit for the new TARDIS design goes to markpilb on DeviantArt. Here's his design if any of you are curious: art/Time-Ship-73440084**


	3. In the middle of a game of cat and mouse

**Get ready for another short chapter, guys.**

It was as though a weight had replaced my heart. I fought to push back those infuriating tears as those words came out as clear as a bell. I received death threats on a daily basis, but hearing one from Caleesu - the person that was like a genuine, yet bizarre, mother to me - I could only close my eyes and hang my head; her words repeating themselves over and over, taunting me.

 _I'm sorry… wonderful times… we're going to have to kill you._

We?

 _But now that you've met the Doctor…_

The Doctor? Why would it be because of hi-

And just like that, two and two snapped together to answer a question that had been building up inside for years in an altogether terrifying way.

"We" was the Time Lords, and they had been trying to prevent this for years. Ever since my curious little self stumbled upon a certain TV channel. It's funny how something so simple can completely ruin your life.

"I understand," I looked up at my - now former - guardian, "but I'm afraid I can't accept your proposal at the moment."

When it was just Caleesu, it was different. When it was just Caleesu, it was regret, dejection, and pity.

But when the Time Lords come into the picture, well, I might as well be a Dalek.

"Knew you'd say that," Caleesu replied. "Unfortunately for you two, however, there's not really a choice."

"Oh yeah? And why's that?" The Doctor, of course, wasn't about to go down without a fight either.

The snitch smirked. "The townspeople are already on their way."

Without missing a beat, we heard a "thump" from behind us and turned around to see a disgruntled feral lying on the floor.

"You know, we really should have closed that hatch," I said to the Doctor.

"Yeah, I'm starting to agree with you."

Just as the feral started to stand up, another one fell from above and landed right on top of it.

"Ooh, ouch." I winced. Despite them trying to kill us, I couldn't help but feel bad. They were still people, after all.

"That's gotta hurt."

"Not as much as we'll be hurting soon."

"Oh yeah, thanks for the reminder."

We began to back up as more and more ferals came/dropped down the entrance to the sewer. Apparently, they didn't know how to use a ladder.

I was about to ask Caleesu why in all hell she would bring the ferals down here, seeing as they would tear her apart as well, but when I looked back, all I saw was her equipment.

"What the- where did she go?"

The Doctor looked back as well, alarmed at what I said. "She must have some sort of teleport."

"Oh, brilliant," I mentioned sarcastically. "If only my vortex manipulator was working."

"I'd rather be torn apart by Americans, thanks."

"Speaking of which…"

At this point, we had our backs to her equipment, and the Doctor was searching frantically for something.

"What are you looking for?" I fearfully kept my eyes on the grinning ferals, worried that if I looked away, I might already feel their nails on my skin.

"I'm trying to find what she used for teleport, but I can't locate anything close to what I'm looking for! The teleporter must have been on her person."

I barely heard what the Doctor was saying, however, because I was too transfixed on the sight in front of me.

As soon as the enemies came within about a six-foot radius of us, they began dropping like flies, rendered completely unconscious.

"Doctor..?" I reached behind myself to pat him on the arm, trying to get his attention.

He turned around and I could see his face changing expressions from astonishment, to confusion, to revelation.

"Oh!"

"Oh?"

"Ohhh!"

"Oh, what? Doctor, don't leave me hanging, here."

"Of course! The carousel is generating that signal to every chip through the x and y-axis on the Cartesian plane by spinning around and around. Therefore, anyone with the chip in their neck around the exterior of the carousel is susceptible to mind-control. But, what if a mind-controlled person were to get into the interior of the carousel?"

"The signal would have no power over them," I responded, beginning to understand.

The Doctor snapped his fingers. "Exactly. And where do you suppose this equipment is positioned?"

"Underneath the center of the carousel, of course! That would mean more power." At this point, I began to take over with the explanation. "So in any spot where the interior of the carousel aligns with the z-axis, that place is a control-free zone!"

The Doctor smiled at our revelation, while I merely smirked. There was no doubt in my mind that even being in the same room with the Doctor was awkward for me, not to mention solving puzzles and fixing problematic situations together. There was just something that put me off… maybe it was his stature, or perhaps it was his personality, but either way, I couldn't stand being around him for long. I was nearly at my brink already. Every fiber of my being was practically screaming for me to get the hell away from him.

Coming back to the situation at hand, a different subject popped into my head. "But.. surely Caleesu knew about this?"

"Oh, I'm sure she did. She was probably just distracting us so she had time to slip away."

I nodded, then gestured to the many fallen "We've still got a problem on our hands, though."

"Ah, yes." He moved over to Caleesu's abandoned equipment and looked it over.

I followed his example. Being quite the engineering expert, I was very skilled in figuring out how things worked. In fact, this equipment was a lot like the technology I had seen as a kid. So, working together, the Doctor and I managed to remove the chips and repair any damage that was done to the people's internal organs in no time. We stopped the signal being transmitted and in the end, we destroyed all of Caleesu's equipment just in case. Better safe than sorry.

After arriving back at the TARDIS I had been about to say goodbye, but the Doctor beat me to the punch.

"So, I assume you haven't really got anywhere to go, have you?"

I froze. I hadn't really thought about it, but now that I did, I supposed he was right. No vortex manipulator, no nothing, really. "Um, I suppose not," I answered, really hoping this wasn't going where I thought it was going.

"Well," He opened the TARDIS doors with a snap of his fingers, "you could always come with me."

 _Ah, yes. The "oh shit" train has arrived yet again for me. It's most common passenger._

I thought about how I had felt when I had thought of the Time Lords back in the sewer. There was nothing but hatred.

"I'm not so sure that would end well for either of us…" I tried in an attempt to get out of this soon-to-be messy situation.

"Emma. You heard what Caleesu said back there. The Time Lords are going to be coming after you, and this will be the first place they look. If you stay here…"

He didn't need to finish his sentence.

I sighed, figuring that I was fighting a losing battle. "Alright."

He smiled. The infuriating little scoundrel.

"Come on, then. What are you waiting for?"

"For you to wipe that stupid grin off your face," I grumbled, and he laughed.

I wasn't kidding, but I walked through the blue doors anyway, then continued to walk up to the console and leaned on it. "So, what's today?"

"Today" he began as he strode in, "is rest."

"What? Seriously? I told you I was feeling-"

"Oh, I remember exactly what you told me, but come on. Did you really think I'd believe that you'd have recovered that quickly?"

I frowned as my aching muscles reminded me that he was right. Leave it to the King of Lies to see straight through your own.

"Fine." I began walking out towards the corridor, hoping the TARDIS would lead me to a bedroom. "But just this once, alright? And not for long!" I stopped when I had reached the entrance to the corridor and turned around to face the Doctor once more. "One more thing, do you know how I know about you?"

I wish I hadn't asked because he gave me the look again. I could swear that that look would haunt my dreams, never being able to figure it out.

"You mean because in your universe, my life is a TV show?"

"Uh, yeah. That." I forced a smile at him and then rushed down the hallway again.

Sure enough, the TARDIS did lead me to a room, thankfully it was just the right size for me. Not too big, not too small. I collapsed on the bed, and immediately the thoughts from the day flooded my brain again. That look the Doctor kept giving me… the dangers of traveling with him… and the one bothering me the most: the Time Lords.

They were coming after me, and they were not happy with me at all. I had failed to listen to them _just once_ and I ended up breaking one of the most important rules that they had laid out for me.

The Time Lords were coming for me, alright. And they wouldn't stop until I was a bug squashed under their heel.

 **Yup, this chapter is** ** _really_** **short. But I promise the next chapter will definitely be longer than these last two, ok? Until then!**


	4. Mr Avocado meets his doom

**Hey, everybody! Sooo sorry that it took this long to post another chapter. I've got a job for the summer that leaves me both physically and mentally exhausted. I'll try my best for getting future chapters up sooner, but I can't make any promises. I am NOT abandoning this story. It might take a hell of a long time to get around to writing, but I swear I have no intentions of ever abandoning this fic.**

"Got any ideas?"

"Only if you do."

"Well, in that case..."

Today was the day. Today was the first full day of the rest of my life aboard the TARDIS. That is, unless we find out a way to shake off the Time Lords for good. But, after having a night to myself to think, I decided, _why not make the most of it?_ I could at least try to be excited, and then perhaps, after a long time of pretending, I could actually be enthusiastic about the situation I was stuck in. Fake it till you make it, right? Still, seeing as this was my first trip with the Doctor, I was looking for something beyond even his expectations. Somewhere that would bring just as much wonder to him as it would me. Somewhere different. Somewhere, if you'll pardon my references, over the rainbow.

"... A place with no name," is what I finally settled on.

How could it be that only an unnamed planet would enamour the Doctor, you ask? Here's my logic: If a planet hasn't already been named, he's named it. So I figured it'd be a safe bet that the Doctor wouldn't have been to an unnamed planet before.

"Ah, I see. You want us to be on even ground, do you?"

I scoffed in offence, when really, he had hit the nail on the head. "Tone your ego down a few notches; we're already even enough."

He only snorted as he began to fly the TARDIS towards our first adventure. Minutes later, the shaking ceased and the Doctor's giddiness began.

"Welcome to no-name land! I know absolutely nothing about this place. Other than the fact that it has ground since we were actually able to land."

That rare, genuine smile crept up on me. Here I was, wandering about the unknown once more. If only it could be under the same circumstances…

And just like that, my smile transformed into a facade and I was left with emptiness. Nonetheless, I couldn't let the Doctor notice my change in attitude, so I bounded up to the TARDIS door, pretending to be full of energy, and burst through.

Only to immediately be hit with a wave of dizziness.

"Whoa," I breathed, "this is light-headedness on a whole new level."

The Doctor walked out and stuck his tongue out. "Ah, yes. The atmosphere is quite thinner here. Also… there's a concentration of about nine percent methane in the air. Let's make sure we don't end up camping out here."

"It's too bad, really. I'd love to stay longer if it didn't give me such a headache."

"Mhmm…" The Doctor smiled as he agreed with me.

It was as though I had walked right into wonderland. The royal purple grass gave off a sweet scent that I couldn't quite discern, the sky was the purest light blue I had ever seen, and most intriguing of all, what looked like shimmering bubbles were floating throughout the air. Only, I could've sworn that I had seen one of them spark a little. Mechanical bubbles? I was about to find out.

My eyes following the path of the transparent floaty things, they stumbled across an intriguing piece of art. The grass going from purple, to blue, to green, it was certainly the most colorful mountain I had ever seen. Examining it more closely, I could see what looked to be the entrance to a cave etched into the mountain. I tugged on the sleeve to the Doctor's leather jacket.

"Hey," I lifted my index finger in the direction of the detail, "over there."

The Doctor's head swiveled to where I was pointing, and I could make out an eye roll. "You've got this beautiful surface of a probably undiscovered planet, and you want to check out the dark, creepy cave."

"Do I seem like one to get scared of a freaking space bat? Come on, you never know what you'll find in a cave!"

"Well, I suppose you've got a point…"

"Of course I do."

"Loving the modesty."

You could practically _feel_ the sarcasm. I forced a smirk onto my face. I could only hope that he was falling for the stale happiness I was giving him. There's only one way to build a wall, and that's brick by brick.

And with that thought in mind, I dashed for the target. Only, I didn't get very far, It wasn't long before the light-headedness took over again as my feet stumbled over each other and the ground came rushing up to meet me. I braced myself for impact, except halfway through my fall, a pair of hands grabbed at my shoulders and pulled me upright.

"Whoa there," the Doctor gave a breath of laughter, "slow and steady wins the race."

"I can handle myself, thank you very much." I grumbled.

"Yeah, I wouldn't count on that." He walked in front of me, completely unaffected by the thinner atmosphere - _stupid Time Lord biology_ \- and bent down, his back facing me.

I knit my eyebrows together. "What are you doing?"

"Hop on." He simply said.

This time, my eyebrows jumped up. "You're kidding me, right?"

"I'm not going to constantly save you from gravity so unless you want to high five the ground with your face every two seconds, I suggest getting on."

"Well," I playfully snapped at him as I wrapped my arms around his neck and my legs around his torso, "this regeneration is a bit moody. Is it that time of the month already?"

"What exactly does that mean?" The Doctor asked as he stood up. "I've heard a few of my other companions mention it but-"

"Doctor, don't ask, okay. Just… don't ask."

Figures the genius alien that has visited Earth for thousands of years wouldn't know one of the most common things about the race he loves so much.

I sighed, despite the unsettling feeling of technically being classified as one of the Doctor's _companions_ by the man himself.

As soon as we started walking, my throbbing headache kicked in again. The _up, down, up, down_ pattern of the Doctor walking made it hard to concentrate on anything as dizziness took over. I held on tightly, hoping that I wasn't choking him, for fear of falling straight onto my back. However, as ridiculous as the thought of getting a "piggy-back ride" or whatever you call it from _the Doctor_ was, I had a feeling that he was right: it was a better situation than falling to the ground every time I took three steps.

After a while, I had begun to drift off, therefore almost falling off when the Doctor stopped short. I could hear him take in a great amount of air with his nose, holding it for a few seconds, and then blowing out.

Confused, I asked him what he was doing.

"Can't you feel it?" The Time Lord answered. "The atmosphere is different in here."

As soon as he said it, I realized that all of the effects of the thinner atmosphere had disappeared. My headache was gone and I could finally think clearly again. My brain was completely un-clouded.

"What is that?" I wondered, "some sort of atmospheric shell?"

"Must be. Uh.. Emma, I think you can walk on your own, now."

"Oh, yeah." I may have said a bit too eagerly.

After hopping off, we began walking through the cave. Of course, it was darker than outside, but surprisingly we could still see just fine. Wondering where the light was coming from, I looked all around. Something akin to small needles was growing, bunched up, on the walls of the tunnel in small patches. I cautiously ran my hand across the surface. My hand tingled like I had pins and needles, yet the feeling was soft, like moss. Strange bug-like creatures were seen here and there. Some crawling, some making nests, some nibbling on an unknown substance attached to the interior of the cave. Above the Doctor and I, I found what I had been looking for. Those same kinds of bubbles that were floating outside hovered in there as well, with one difference: these ones were glowing. And the farther into the cave we got, the brighter the glow became.

After a few minutes of walking, the glow became so bright that it was as bright inside of the cave as it was outside.

It was also when I became increasingly aware of the silence that had filled the air. Before, I had been too entranced by every new thing around me to notice, but now that I was getting used to this new planet, I realized that the Doctor had been speaking less and less since our arrival. Not that this regeneration was a blabbermouth, but it was still uncharacteristic for him to have spoken so little. Especially when something as new and exciting as an undiscovered planet was shoved in his face.

Something was up.

I looked to my right, up at him, and found him wearing an expression any Whovian would recognize. Lips pressed together, eyes staring intently ahead, eyebrows a little more pronounced than usual. And… was his short, curly brown hair more ruffled than usual? He must've been running his hand through his hair or scratching his head.

The Doctor was thinking hard all right, and it wasn't about anything pleasant.

"What's on your mind?" I asked casually.

"I could read off over 20 things that create sparks to you, and bubbles would not be one of them."

"Ah. Not my imagination, then."

"Definitely not." He pulled out his sonic screwdriver and scanned one of the nearby bubbles. "These things are occupying massive amounts of electrical charge. They're like thousands of bombs, probably even more, ready to blow. And I'll tell you what: they're most certainly not natural."

Catching on, I questioned, "you think somebody placed them here?"

He nodded. "And I have a feeling that whoever is responsible for these explosives is also the one that set up the change in atmosphere."

I snorted. "Wouldn't be surprising."

"Come on." I followed the Doctor deeper and deeper into the cave, the what I now knew to be bombs' glow leading our way.

Before long, we came across a rock stairway leading downwards to a cavern. Standing at the top of the stairs, the Doctor and I had a good view of the place. It was the size of eight football fields, with yellow glowing crystals growing and humming softly all over the place; the ceiling, the walls, the floor too, all of them illuminating the cavern. Yet the most impressive thing about the cavern wasn't how vast it was, nor the crystals, not even the exotic assortment of plants growing without sunlight, but the fact that underneath the mountain, a small town had been carved from the stone. Houses, statues, every single structure looked to have been chiseled from rock. Just the sheer amount of time and effort that must have gone into building the town left me speechless. But, as always, something wasn't quite right. Everything was taken care of quite nicely. Buildings looked to be smooth for having been built of rock, there wasn't anything grimy in sight, and not a single object was broken or run down. The town wasn't in ruins, it was an optimal man-made (alien-made?) living place; so here's the problem-

"Where is everybody?" I asked, letting my curiosity take over. There was a mystery here, and with a mystery comes near-death experiences. My heart jumped with excitement at the thought.

"Good question. Let's see if we can find any of the locals, shall we?" With our task issued, we stepped down the stairs to the tiny town. We split up, searching through the streets, looking in houses, down alleyways, everywhere.

"Hello? Anyone home?" The Doctor's voice echoed.

"Free chimichangas!" I tried, but apparently, the people of this world weren't chimichanga fans.

Occasionally, I found the odd ash pile lying around, and now that I think about it, I'm infuriated with myself for not figuring it out right away. At one point, I picked up a small bit of it with my bare hands. It was almost hot to the touch. I watched as the black substance slipped through my fingers and stained my hand.

After minutes of searching, the Doctor and I reconvened at the base of the stairwell.

"So, Emma-" The Doctor started, but I cut him off.

"This is ridiculous."

"Emma-"

"Seriously, where is everybody? They should be out shopping, or in their houses canoodling or something!"

"Listen, I think-"

"Or do they not do that here? I mean, they have things that look like shops, so I'd think that they would go shopping and-"

"Do you have an off switch?!"

"Huh?"

Honestly, I suppose I wasn't expecting this regeneration to be so forward, or rude for that matter because I was certainly taken aback.

"You want to know where the townspeople are? They're right in front of you."

"Is this your way of breaking it to me that you actually have visited this planet before and were just lying for my sake?"

"What? No, I- Seriously? No! I'm saying that they're still here, just… a little differently than they were a few minutes ago."

"What are talking abou-" And it finally clicked into place. My mind flashed back to those piles of ashes I had seen around the town, and then to the bubbles that stored electricity. "Oh my God…"

I tried not to think about it too much; the suddenness of it all. The Doctor was right, judging by how the ashes - _the remains of those that used to live there_ \- were still warm (and taking the surrounding temperatures into account), they must have ceased to be about a few minutes ago. If only we had arrived at an earlier time, we could have helped them. I was seething, but I tried not to show it. I couldn't even do my job right anymore.

Nevertheless, in the middle of my self-loathing, a thought occurred to me. I may not be able to save these foreigners, but I can at least save others from meeting the same fate.

And with that thought in mind, I switched gears and got to work. The Doctor had said that those bombs weren't natural and that someone put them there. Meaning someone was planning to kill the people in that town. Also meaning that other settlements could possibly be in danger as well. But where the attacker was at the moment and where he/she/it would be going for next would be beyond difficult to find out. There was also the question of why those spark plugs waiting to go off were laid out practically everywhere. Was it just used as a precautionary measure? But that wouldn't help me find out where the attacker was at the moment, I had to refocus. Let's see… what else, what else did we have?

Then I remembered the change in atmosphere; how it was an atmospheric shell.

I looked up at the Doctor again, "Doctor, how can an atmospheric shell be installed?"

"Well," he began, "you'd need a device that can manipulate the elements in the air to a certain extent, plus the device could be the size of a TV and stagnant, to the size of a 3" cube and portable."

"So either way, it's most likely that the cause of all this is around here somewhere."

"Emma, have I ever mentioned that I love the way you think?"

"You could stand to mention it more." I smirked.

"Let's go through the area once more. Look for discreet places; a crevice, an alleyway, anything like that."

"Got it, let's move." I said.

I scoured the area, making the most of my sharpened vision. I looked everywhere; breaking into houses, checking shady places, looking for anything unusual. Of course, unusual could be anything when you're on an unidentified alien planet.

I was looking around the corner to an alleyway when out of the corner of my eye, I saw a flash of something moving. I pulled back, questioning whether I had really seen it or if it was just my imagination when, unmistakably, I saw the Doctor running past as well, yelling, "stop right there!"

I followed once I realized what was going on, but I stuck to the shadows. If the Doctor couldn't catch up to whoever that was, there was no way I'd be able to. I'd need the element of surprise to catch this crook.

They ran down the path the Doctor and I came from, and I made sure to make as little noise as possible while keeping them in my sight, sticking to the wall. Luckily the person we were chasing was too busy running to look back, because with the amount of light the bombs were giving off, they would be able to see me. But as we got closer to the cave entrance, the dimmer the light got, making it so I could effectively hide in the shadows. Unfortunately, the closer we got to the cave entrance, the farther away the possibility of the element of surprise came as we would soon be outside in the daylight. Fortunately, the Doctor managed to grab the person's elbow, stopping them short.

As I got closer, I could finally see what the wretched alien looked like. His skin was green, the shade of the rim of the inside of an avocado. For hair, he had a mohawk, a darker shade of green. He was sporting some downright sci-fi clothing. Complete with the one-piece black suit with purple stripes, purple gloves, and black boots. It was way too sci-fi for this sci-fi show.

The Doctor tugged Mr. Avocado around to face him. "Now, don't speak. I've already had enough from you. Resist and my friend, wherever the _hell_ she is, will punch you in the face."

"W-who are you?"

"I'm your worst nightmare. Oh, would you mind giving me your name? We're going to need it when we hand you over to the Shadow Proclamation."

Just after the Doctor said that I caught the killer's eyes flitting to his left for a fraction of a second. I looked over and found that there was a small passage that the Doctor and I had completely missed before. It was small but big enough for all of us to fit in single file. There was no doubt in my mind that that was where the alien was planning on heading.

As quietly as I could, I began to shuffle towards the passage. The Doctor caught my eye and I mouthed "keep him distracted" to him. As the Doctor continued asking questions, I made it across without attracting any more attention to myself, beginning to run down the opening once I was out of sight. I came across another cavern, smaller this time, and smack dab in the middle was a purple, white and black spaceship that looked to be from your typical sci-fi show. On the side were the letters GSF. Above the spaceship was a lack of a roof. There was just a big hole in the ceiling that led to the open sky. I hopped onto the wing, and then the top, and sure enough, there was a hatch leading to the interior.

Hopping down, I closed the hatch and sat into the passenger seat. My plan was simply to have a nice little chat with that murdering scoundrel. No, really. I just wanted to talk, to see if I could convince him to quit his schemes. Although I'll admit I really wasn't expecting him to oblige.

Soon after the hatch opened and that avocado dropped in. He was so frantic about getting off of the planet that he didn't even notice me. But as soon as he sat in the driver's seat I made myself known by smiling sweetly and saying "hello" with a wave.

He shrieked like a little girl.

"It's okay," I tried, even though nothing about the situation was, "I just want to talk. I'd very much appreciate it if you'd tell me why on whatever this planet's name is you're doing this."

I didn't get an answer. Instead, the alien looked up at a screen that I didn't notice was there, and on it, I saw the Doctor running in. In a flash, Mr. Avocado hit a button, and I could hear the engines start up. He flicked a switch upwards and we began to ascend.

"Whoa, whoa, hey. I didn't sign up for a trip."

He only tapped his wristband and a hologram came up. The words were backwards to me, but I'm pretty sure the thing he tapped had said: activate.

"What are you doing?"

"Activating the spark plugs. Your friend is about to be roasted. As for you, how does torture and then death sound?" He said it like he was offering me dinner.

My training then decided to kick in. It's how I was raised to respond to any threat. I yanked around to face me and swiftly headbutted him. Then gave him a punch in the face for good measure, which knocked him out cold.

Problem 1: There was now a lack of a pilot.

Problem 2: I had no idea how to drive this thing.

We were out of the mountain now, only the blue sky above us. I remembered what the unconscious man next to me had said. He had activated the spark plugs, and the Doctor might already be toast now. But I had to stick with my gut. I knew the Doctor wouldn't, couldn't die just like that. I had to do what I could.

Rule 1: Use your enemy's' power against them.

I tapped the wristband and the hologram popped up. The words read "spark plugs activated" but I didn't have time to ponder any more over that. I swiped to the left and a different hologram showed. This one was a picture showing the planet. There were red dots all over, what I assumed to be the bombs, and a single rising blue dot. I knew that that must have been the spaceship. I tried tapping on one of the spark plugs and dragging it upwards, and all of the other ones followed. Finally understanding what I was doing, I dragged the red dot over to the blue dot and some text popped up saying "changing course". I watched as all the red dots started rising towards the blue dot, and I realized I had to act quickly if I wanted to survive.

I got up from my seat and looked around the ship. Wasn't there always some emergency escape on every spaceship? I saw a spare space suit and something that looked like an oxygen unit. Behind the passenger seat, I found what I was looking for: a parachute. I grabbed one strap of the pack and opened the hatch, climbing up.

Note to self: it is not easy to stand on top of a rapidly rising sleek spaceship.

I could feel the wind whipping around as my head rose above the roof. I could smell the methane floating throughout the air, and I could see the spark plugs getting closer and closer. Because I really needed another reminder of how I was probably about to die.

I should have known better than to stand on the roof. I should have remembered how hard it would be to balance, because as soon as I did stand, I stumbled. I lost my grip on the bag and watched as it slid off the spaceship and down onto the planet below. And so I did the only thing I really could: I jumped. I jumped right off the side of that spaceship, following my parachute.

Now, you'd think that I'd be worried about my more than likely death. Or if I was really going to be able to grab that parachute that I was desperately reaching for. But really, my body just seemed to be doing that on its own. My mind, however, was in its own world. I couldn't help but wonder; did I do the right thing? Did that man really deserve to die? Yes, he did kill a lot of people, and yes, I didn't know his motivations, but still… maybe he could have changed...

In the end, I ended up comparing him to myself. I'd like to say that he and I were complete opposites, but truthfully, I found more similarities than I'd like to admit.

My mind only just registered that I had my hand around the strap of the pack. Hurriedly, I put my arms through and clicked the straps together, then immediately pulled the ripcord once I realized how close to the ground I was.

Have you ever had an _oh shit_ moment? For me, my first one was when I had first tried riding a bike one-handed. There wasn't much room between the road and the curb, and before I knew it, my bike was wobbling. I had seen what was about to happen too late for me to do anything about it. The bike's front wheel hit the curb, and I flew off, badly scraping up my knee. Well, this was one of those moments.

As the ground came rushing up too quickly, (just my luck, I was above a hill) I knew that I had opened up the parachute a bit too late. My feet hit solid ground and the rest of my body followed soon after. I bumpily rolled my way down the hill, knowing that the experience would be sure to leave bruises.

After that horrible fiasco was over, I lay in a heap on the ground, tangled in the parachute. I didn't move for a few minutes, just caught my breath. Afterwards, I realized that I had no idea where I was. The Doctor and the TARDIS were nowhere to be seen.

I managed to get myself out of the parachute, then continued to wander for a bit. Alone. That was never good. You should never leave me with my thoughts. Especially when there's a thin atmosphere involved. You've already seen what happens then. Luckily, it wasn't long before I heard the sound of the TARDIS engines at work, and the interior materialised around me.

I caught sight of the Doctor and I grinned like a maniac. "You're a hard ant to squash, Doctor."

"And you're impossible to keep under control."

"You sound like my guardians."

"Who are they? Your guardians."

At that, I stopped grinning. "Nobody of importance to you." I lied.

"I'm not so sure."

I immediately changed the subject. "Who was he? The guy responsible for all this?"

The Doctor looked reluctant to switch subjects, but I suppose he knew that I wasn't going to crack because he answered my question anyway. "He was a Gsovio. They're a race known for extreme cases of biocide. They're one of those alien races that would just love to watch anything and everything burn. But they're constantly on the move, so the intergalactic police force hasn't been able to catch many of them."

I thought about the image of the spark plugs all over the planet. The fact that a person had gone through so much trouble in order to commit genocide sickened me. But there were more questions running through my head that needed answering.

"And the atmospheric shell?"

"Generated by his wristband. It extended to about 100 yards."

I nodded, but even that seemed to take up a load of effort.

"What's on your mind?" He asked casually, mirroring me from before.

"Just… wondering if what I did was right."

"You saved a lot of lives." He said it gently, but it still made me snap.

"Did I?! The people that used to live in that town died a few minutes ago, like you said. It would have taken a lot more than a few minutes to distribute those spark plugs. Everyone else on this planet could be ashes as well!"

"Okay, so we can't necessarily know about the others, but you saved the planet."

"Fat lot of good that will do."

"Is that what you really think? Come on." He strode over to the TARDIS doors and opened them. I followed him.

"What do you see?" The Doctor asked.

I looked out at the world that we had saved. I saw the multi-colored mountains. I saw the nearby flowing river. I saw the pastures where creatures I had never seen before grazed. But most of all, I saw…

"Potential."

The Doctor smiled down at me. "Exactly." He gestured to the view with his arm. "The Earth was exactly like this once, as you should know. No lifeforms inhabiting it as intelligent as the humans, everything made by itself. And of course, it had just gone through an age of chaos. Volcanoes erupting, asteroids constantly smashing into its surface. But," He wandered out onto the planet, bent over and picked something up, then came back inside, "along came one little sign of life, and the Earth as you know it began." He took my hand and placed something round in my palm, then curled my fingers over it. Smiling, he walked over to the console and hit the dematerialisation lever.

I uncurled my hand, and sat in it was a little acorn of sorts. A reminder of the planet I'd saved.

"So," The Doctor announced, "there's only one thing left for us to decide. What's the planet called?"

I didn't even have to think. "Aparchés."

The Latin word for beginnings.

 **There you have it! Chapter 4 is finally done and is also my longest chapter yet. I hope you enjoyed and as always, reviews are always appreciated! Thank you!**


	5. I Enter A Shit Fest

**Here we are, folks! Chapter 5 is finally complete. I really appreciate your guys' patience with my slow updating.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who. All I own are my OCs.**

Day thirty-two and I was, well, surviving.

Every day I forced a smile. Every day it took an effort to laugh. Every day I felt the weight on my shoulders, reminding me of how unhappy I was. I woke up hoping for better and went to bed wondering why I even try. And the Doctor's daily questions about my past wasn't helping.

Nevertheless, we continued to visit amazing places. Yet I couldn't bring myself to fully appreciate their magnificence. I found myself detached, my mind foggy.

A planet made of tree roots, a place where gravity pulled you sideways, the Frankish Civil War. It was like I was a machine operating on emergency power; not living, just existing.

Today started off no different. After all, running down corridors is how we roll.

"Why?" I gasped as the Doctor and I slammed the TARDIS doors shut behind us.

"Her braid was just a bit too far to the left. It was bothering me." He answered as if it were obvious.

"So you decide to insult her?"

"I merely made a comment-"

"To the _queen_ , in front of her _armed guards_."

"Hey, freedom of speech, isn't that what you Americans say?" He said as he began flying the TARDIS through the time vortex.

"Dude, I'm not even American."

"Oh, that's right. Both of your parents are British."

I froze. "You know my parents."

He stopped what he was doing and looked at me for a second before returning his gaze to the buttons he was fiddling with. "...Yes."

"And how long have you known this information, exactly?" I asked sternly. Figures, he couldn't even respect my privacy.

He hesitated. "Since you were first in the infirmary aboard the TARDIS."

I gaped at him. "You ran scans on my DNA without my permission." It came out as more of a statement than a question. "You've known for a _month_ and haven't had the decency to tell me about it!"

"I'm sorry, okay? I should have checked with you first."

I stared at him for a bit. He actually sounded… sincere? "Okay, fine. Whatever. Let's just move on. Where to next, huh? Pink, upside down waterfalls? Or how about that place where the mountains sway in the breeze?"

The Doctor scoffed. "There are no pink, upside down waterfalls in the known universe, Emma. And those mountains are inhabited by spider-trolls."

"Okay then, where?" I asked as I watched him circle the console calmly, flipping switches here and pressing buttons there.

"Oh, Emma." His crystal blue eyes held a spark of mischief. "You're really in for a surprise."

At that moment, the console room jerked, and I was thrown backwards. I slammed into the railing, holding on for dear life as the Doctor simply laughed like a maniac. Which I suppose he was.

After a few minutes of being shaken to the core by the Doctor's awful driving, we landed with a _thud_.

"Okay," I said as I gathered my senses, "what is this absolutely astonishing place you wanted to bring me to?"

We both strided over to the TARDIS doors and the Doctor threw each of them open. "Welcome to Elrigas."

Elrigas was a planet entirely covered with super-dense water, so you could walk on it. The people living there had migrated to the planet, and with them they brought ways to freeze the water into ice in order to make buildings and other objects. I was just glad that I had decided to wear my fuzzy sweatshirt that morning.

As the Doctor rambled on about the planet and the aliens on it and how the the Queen had lived for hundreds of years as we walked carefully down the icy street, I began to chuckle, amused at his ignorance.

"What's so funny?" He asked.

"Oh, nothing. It's just," I looked up at him, "I've already been here. I came here about a hundred years ago."

"Oh, come on! Again?" This had been an ongoing problem for us, seeing as I had traveled through the universe quite a bit as well. The fourth wonder of the universe? Check. The American Revolution? Been there, done that. Jim the Fish? Okay, maybe not that one. The point is, our ideas keep overlapping, and it ends up causing a lot of trouble for us on our travels.

"Well, something must've changed in the past hundred years. See anything different?"

"Hmm.. the buildings are definitely more developed, and I know that that giant ice statue wasn't there the last time I visited."

"There, you see? Not a complete waste of a trip. Now-"

Before the Doctor could finish his sentence, a piercing scream ripped through the chilly air. It had come from our left. Looking that way, we saw a woman with her mouth agape, pointing upwards at the sky.

Taking her hint, we looked up. There was a huge, black spaceship; a similar style to the Sycorax's, taking up space in the clear blue sky while blotting out the sun. It was descending; that much was clear. But anything else about the new arrival remained a mystery. However, after the landing, the puzzle pieces started to form a clear picture.

It wasn't a soft landing. They didn't even bother landing out of the way. Rather the opposite, in fact. They were lowering themselves above a row of ice buildings, and instead of moving around them, they kept descending; crushing them. And probably crushing at least a hundred people too. To add to that, they didn't even slow down enough for their landing. They kept going, crashing right into the thick ice and sending the water beneath it rearing up, leaving cracks in the ice road and us falling on them. And, to finish it all off, a door on the side of the ship slid upwards and a ramp jutted out, cutting into the road as well.

"Way to make an entrance." I grumbled, doing my best to stand up on the now slanted and broken ice pathway.

As figures began to emerge from the intruding ship, the locals began sheltering themselves behind whatever they could find; buildings, food stalls, anything. Meanwhile, the Doctor and I were cautiously walking forward to get a better look, receiving some distressed comments like, "get yourself somewhere safe" and "what do these foreigners think they're doing?"

It wasn't very easy to see under the newcomers' armoring, but from what I could tell, they shared many physical qualities with the inhabitants of the planet we were visiting. They had the same pale skin, the same blonde hair, even the same form of markings on their neck; although the pattern was notably different. The only difference was that they had less elegance and more brutishness.

Mentally jotting down notes, I roamed my eyes all over the scenario before me. These people made no effort to conceal their arrival, ruling out an attack, yet they were visibly armed and were walking in an offensive formation. So why did they destroy those buildings and the people in it? To surprise opposers? No, that wasn't it. A display, perhaps? Or maybe it was a threat. Maybe it would become clearer if I could figure out who the hostile forces were. Let's see… going by the uncanny similarities, I'd say that the two groups had to be related somehow. The people of this planet had traveled here long ago, but why? The armed visitors had transportation, too. Could they have been from the same planet? Separate tribes or countries, perhaps? But if that was true, why were they coming to this planet? And why now? I decided asking the Doctor was worth a shot.

"Any idea on who those guys with the pointy objects are?" I whispered to him, keeping my eyes trained on the visitors.

"They're called the Koreifth Clan. They became enemies of the Heshtim Clan, the people living here, soon before they each left their old planet to find a new one." He answered in a hushed voice.

"Why did they leave?"

"Most of the clans on the shared home planet didn't get along very well, putting it mildly. They were almost constantly declaring wars on each other. Each war left an atrocious scar on the planet, and eventually, the land belonging to most of the clans was entirely torn apart. Crops couldn't be grown, houses couldn't be built, there wasn't enough habitable land left to sustain all life forms, and the homeless clans were in no shape to start another war to take over land. All in all, there was clearly only one solution: move to another planet. However, the Koreifths took most of the technology, leaving the Heshtims with just enough to survive and the technology to freeze water into ice. But, they were able to get by on trading with other species."

By the time the Doctor finished explaining, the Koreifth Clan had assembled all of their troops, and holy Rassilon, were there a lot of them. They stretched past their spaceship, making me realize that the thing had at least two tiers, and almost made it to the end of the street. I could hear a resounding _crunch_ as the soldiers began marching, and I discerned that they had some sort of spikes on the bottom of their boots to make it easier to walk on what was left of the ice. I could only hope that one of them wouldn't kick me in the face.

I was so centered on the troops that I didn't even notice the general. He was leading his army right for the Doctor and me. I locked eyes with him for a moment, and found myself staring into an endless pit of murder and defiance. However, I couldn't afford to waver, so I stood tall, keeping a collected and scrutinizing expression clearly visible. Not offensive, not defensive, but neutral. I didn't want to piss off these people just yet.

About forty feet away from the Doctor and I, the general held up his hand, signaling for his troops to stop walking. He, on the other hand, continued to stomp right over to us. He looked us up and down, and I didn't appreciate the look of discontent on his face.

That's when I decided to speak up. Five seconds into meeting this guy and I was already done with him. "If you're looking for the ladies' room, it's by the first aisle of _get your ass out of town_."

The man scowled. "You are not of this world, we have no business with you. Leave now or be killed."

Well, he sure didn't waste any time.

"Actually," the Doctor spoke, "I'm an old friend of the Queen. Any serious problem with her world goes straight to me, General Thouv."

Thouv grunted. "And the impudent scoundrel?"

"The scoundrel's with me."

"Oi!" I cut in.

"Anywhere I go, she goes." The Doctor continued.

"Very well, you both will accompany us to the castle. Any malicious tactics and you will be chucked into the subzero water."

There was no being chucked into the subzero water on our way to the castle, fortunately. Unfortunately, I just remembered a teensy little problem. I'd visited this planet before, I'd met the Queen before, and she would probably not be very happy to see me again. Let's just say I had a rough first start on this planet. I could only hope that Queen Renein the Third had a horrible memory because it was too late to back out now.

When we approached the gates to the castle, General Thouv was told that he would have to leave his troops at the gate, to which he obliged. Apparently, he didn't come to slaughter everyone.

When we entered, it struck me as odd that the castle hadn't changed one bit since I had last been there. With all of the other buildings having been developed more, I would've expected that the same could be said for the castle. But perhaps the Queen was nostalgic.

After a thorough examination of Thouv, the Doctor, and I, we were allowed into the throne room. General Thouv led the way, the Doctor and I following closely behind.

"Queen Renein." The General greeted coldly.

"General Thouv." The Queen didn't sound so pleased either. "And you've brought guests with you. Doctor, it's a pleasure to see you again, and-" She immediately paled, if that was even possible considering how pale she already was, "- _you_."

Her icy gaze became fixated on me. "Was it bravery or stupidity that brought you back to my throne room?"

"Bit of both?" I tried to act casual, even though I was panicking inside.

"Nevertheless, my guards will do away with you." I could see her beckon to the guards at the door behind us and the sound of boots clanking against the floor became apparent.

"Whoa whoa whoa," I held up my hands and looked around nervously. I could see the Doctor doing the same, looking between the Queen, then the guards, then me. "Do we seriously have to do this right now? I mean, there's an army right outside your door, an enemy in your throne room, and come on! That was a hundred years ago! Seriously, woman, how long do your grudges last?"

"You killed multiple of my citizens and my ambassador!"

"I was framed!"

"Oh, really?" At this point the guards were at my side and had grabbed onto my arms. I looked desperately at the Doctor. He looked like he wanted to say something, but wasn't quite sure what. Without any interruptions, Queen Renein continued to maul my reputation. "Do you have any evidence of this?"

At that point I knew I was screwed. The Heshtims ran a strict justice department based upon hard facts. I stammered. "Um…no, but-"

"Then there is nothing to debate. Guards! Throw her to the tear!"

My first thought was that "the tear" sounded like a weird name for a torturing or killing machine, but as I was brought behind the Queen's throne, I realized that "the tear" wasn't a machine at all. Behind the Queen's throne was a jagged tear. It was literally a tear. A tear in the fabric of reality. It was in the shape of a deformed rectangle, with bright white light seeping out of it.

The Doctor chose that moment to object. "Queen Reinen, please." He walked forward. "This must be some sort of misunderstanding."

"This girl committed a serious crime, Doctor. There is no mistake about it."

The Doctor took out his sonic and scanned the tear. "But that's highly unstable! It was created by a lack of flowing time in that area of space. You throw her in there, and she could be sent anywhere in the universe! Or worse, she'll be stuck in the void forever!"

"You have been a great help to this world, Doctor. But my word is final. Guards! Send her in!"

On each side of me, the guard's grips tightened as they prepared to casually toss me into hell. Behind me, I could hear the Doctor's desperate attempts to have the Queen change her mind. But in front of me, either chaos or eternal boredom was waiting, and it was eager to make my life miserable.

I awoke to my worst nightmare. Opera.

Someone was singing random notes. They didn't have a bad voice, the opposite in fact. But my head was pounding, and I could really have used some peace and quiet.

I hadn't opened my eyes yet, but just as I was about to yell at the person to shut up, an exasperated voice interrupted the singer. "How long have we been waiting?"

Looking back on it, I'm kicking myself for not recognizing the voice sooner. But, to be fair, my head was completely addled, and everything was distorted.

"Who knows? It's always the way with hospitals."

Hang on a second. Hang on a _fucking_ second. I recognized those lines! But there was no way… I couldn't seriously be-

My thoughts were interrupted by a door sliding open and a voice dishing out orders. "You will come. You will stay."

"Fair enough." A woman said.

I had to resist the urge to jump up from where I was lying on the floor and scream until my lungs fell out. The conversations continued, but I had blocked them all out. All I could think about was _there's no way this is happening_ and _shitshitshitshitshit._

I didn't get a lot of time to myself, though, because before I knew it I was being tapped on the head and hearing a female scottish accent saying, "oi, you. I know you're awake, you might as well get up off the floor."

My eyes shot open. In a flash, I was standing and backed up against the wall. Sure, I had heard the voices, but seeing them was like a confirmation. It was like reality was giving me a slap in the face and saying "yup, you're really here." Because while others may know the two people that were standing in front of me as Missy and Clara Oswald, I knew them as the Bitch Queen and my deceased mother.

 **Woohoo, plot twist! I hope you guys enjoyed Chapter 5! I'll begin working on Chapter 6 immediately. Please remember to leave a review! Even a very short one is super encouraging and will help me to get chapters out sooner.**


	6. The Old Cow plays ding dong ditch

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor** **Who.**

Okay, let's think about this.

My deceased mother is standing right in front of me. What do you think my reaction would be? Something along the lines of _oh my god I missed you so much_ with a bit of hugging thrown in there, right? Well, you can stop yourself right there, because here's the deal: I have never missed my mom, not once in my life. I've never met her before. Everything I know about her, as well as all of my emotional attachment to her, comes from that TV show, _Doctor Who_. So if I had to choose who I had more emotional attachment or detachment for, I'd choose Missy.

That's why I was backed against the wall, looking between the two hurriedly, trying to figure out who I should be more petrified about.

"Now that that's out of the way…" Missy strided over to the airlock. "You know what this airlock is? I'll tell you. It's pants."

"What do you mean?" Clara asked. She transferred the worried look she had been giving me onto Missy.

"I mean that today might be the day." Missy answered, dragging the "today" and "the day."

"What day?" Clara asked nervously.

"The day I kill the both of you." Missy said flatly.

I had been using this time of conversation to catch my breath, and Missy saying _that_ certainly didn't help. That wasn't how it went in the show. She had said "the day I kill you" in the show. Missy should never have said "the both of." She should also never have tapped me on the head and told me to wake up. Which meant that my being there had already started changing the timelines.

Missy's hand suddenly lunged for the circular door controls. Slowly, she began to move it.

"What are you doing? Are you opening it?" At this point, Clara sounded halfway between accusatory and frightened.

"Yeah, of course." The insane Time Lady said as if it were obvious.

"Missy, we'll get sucked out!"

"The three of us together, off we go. Let's make jam."

Jam we did not make. The door opened, but we all stayed standing. By this point I had gathered my wits enough to walk up to the open door, where Clara and Missy were both standing as Missy stretched her arm out into what appeared to be the emptiness of space.

She gasped. "It's warm, isn't it?" She looked back at me. "For deep space, anyway." Missy moved her arms so that both of her hands were touching the jambs of the doorway and lifted her leg up.

"What are you doing?" Clara inquired.

"Treading softly." Came the mysterious answer.

Carefully, Missy set both of her feet in deep space, then let go of the "space station", Clara following soon after. My mom turned back to me and held out her hand as Missy explained how we were on a planet.

"Come on, it's alright." Her voice was soothing. It was a voice I had never expected to hear in reality, and it filled me with warmth. So much, in fact, that I had to force down a smile. I had to remind myself that I was in a shit situation, and I was most certainly not happy. "You're taking this rather well, you know."

"I don't need a hand." I grumbled, perhaps a bit harshly. To prove my point I stepped out without hesitation and walked right past her. I immediately regretted my tone of voice, however, when I saw her caring smile turn into a frown.

I waited for a few seconds, anticipating Clara's next line, but it never came. I figured she must have still been contemplating my behavior, so I decided that I would steal it from her to help keep things on track.

"That's ridiculous." I shot at Missy.

"Now, why would you of all people say that, Emma?"

My eyes widened. My fists clenched. I completely froze up. The Doctor knowing who I am? Yeah, I guess that's fine. Besides, now I know how exactly he knows me. After all, it looked like I was stuck in the past. But the Doctor wasn't a mad nutjob that loved to watch the universe burn. So when Missy said my name, I was internally screaming. But I couldn't let her see how it was getting to me. Never display your weaknesses in front of an enemy. So, i clenched my teeth, took a deep breath through my nose, and listened to Missy continue speaking.

"But, yes, I suppose it is ridiculous. I mean, how would you ever find your glasses, or the little girls' room? And what if you kissed an ugly?" She looked at her hand, and I knew that she was seeing dirt there. "Unless, when you're part of the atmosphere, you start syncing with the spectrum."

"Why would anybody hide a whole planet?" Clara spoke.

Behind her, shapes in the form of sci-fi buildings began arising from the dark, and a blue sky began to appear above us. "That would rather depend upon the planet, dear." Missy spoke faintly.

All around us, the scenery finalized it's changing, and our location became clear to Missy.

"No." She gasped, and somewhere out there I knew the Doctor was saying the same. "They've built it again, they've brought it back. No, no. No."

"What?" Clara asked, still left in the dark. "What is it? Where are we?"

"Skaro." I said simply, knowing that Missy would explain the rest.

"What's Skaro?"

"The beginning." Missy told her cryptically. "Where it all started. This is the planet of the Daleks."

"Correct." A familiar metallic vocalization rang out.

A shiver ran down my spine. I had encountered the Daleks multiple times before, and each time I was only a hair away from losing my life. Not to mention their cold, steely voice that reminded you of how there was no negotiating with them. Perhaps that's why my heart leapt out of my chest and my eyes widened to the size of saucers even though I knew what I would see when I turned my head.

"You will follow. Resistance or escape attempts will result in extermination." The Dalek ordered.

"Yes, alright. No need to get up on that high horse of yours." Missy told the Dalek before it turned around and began moving towards the city. Reluctantly, we all followed.

A little while before reaching the center of the city, I began running through my head the events that would take place next. Then, as I remembered what was about to happen, I nearly tripped over my own two feet and had to take a deep breath to sort out my uneven breathing.

I leaned a little to my left, whispering, "Missy, I don't have a vortex manipulator."

She gasped. "Oh, that's right! Well, this is sure to be interesting."

I growled at her as quietly as I could. "Can you please take this seriously? I might die here!"

"Better grab the popcorn, then. Can't wait to see you wiggle yourself out of this predicament you little Houdini."

I sighed furiously and shook my head with a scowl on my face. Out of the corner of my eye, I caught Clara looking at me skeptically, but she instantly looked away when she saw me looking.

During the rest of the walk I tried scouring my memories to figure something out that could prevent this seemingly inevitable death of mine. But we were already really close to the building where the scene would take place and my memories of the episodes were pretty clouded. I could remember major details and things that were said, but something as little as the placement of the Daleks in the room, or how far away from the Daleks the door was? Forget it. My memory has never been that good.

We reached the center building far too soon in my opinion. Perhaps another century or two would've been better. At least that way I could die in peace… -ish. The Dalek had ordered us "three humanoids" to enter, it following close behind. Navigating through a few hallways, we entered the control room. All Daleks in the room turned to face towards us.

But Clara's attention wasn't on the Daleks at the moment. It was on- "The TARDIS." She stated. "How did she get here?"

"It has been procured." The answer came from the Supreme Dalek as a laser gun was lowered from the ceiling.

"Yeah? Yeah, well, if you're trying to get inside, you can't." Clara declared, sounding very sure of herself. "Nothing can enter the TARDIS."

"The TARDIS will not be entered." The Supreme Dalek corrected. "The TARDIS will be destroyed."

Clara chuckled. "Yeah, well, good luck because she's indestructible."

"Did the Doctor tell you that because you should never believe a man about a vehicle." Missy counteracted Clara's claim.

"Or his driving skills." I grumbled.

"Mmm, yes. That too." Missy agreed before beginning to walk around the room, in between the Daleks. What was about to happen hit me again and I promptly began scanning the room for a way to survive.

A straight run for the door wouldn't do anything but get me killed. After all, we all saw how far it got Clara. So if you can't fight, can't flight, and can't freeze, then what can you do in a situation like this? Answer: You can hide. And there was only one place to hide in this room.

The TARDIS was still alive and humming. But even so there wasn't much time left; I still had to get inside.

I felt a hand grab mine, snapping me back to the present. I hadn't even noticed Missy's "death". Now it was Clara's turn. And if she didn't let go of my hand: mine as well. I couldn't just drop it though, she would definitely assume something was wrong. Other than the fact that some raging killer tanks were about to kill us, of course.

So when Clara whispered "run" in my ear, I went along with it. I ran, that is, until I heard the Daleks screaming "exterminate!" Then I stopped, letting go of Clara's hand, dropped and rolled, effectively dodging the death rays coming my way. However, the same couldn't be said for Clara. I didn't pause for a second, running to the nearest Dalek and hoisting myself up so that I was on top of it's casing. I began jumping from Dalek to Dalek, aiming towards the TARDIS. Snapping my fingers, the TARDIS doors opened, and I leaped inside, landing in a heap on the TARDIS floor. I raised my arm up and gave the middle finger to the Daleks outside before closing the doors with a snap of my fingers. I put my head down, laying there on the grating, and hoped that I wouldn't be dispersed into atoms along with the TARDIS.

As it turns out, the TARDIS has a built in defense system for when lifeforms are aboard the ship and the Hostile Action Dispersal System is activated. I knew because I actually had a body to move when all was said and done.

Well, perhaps not completely done.

I woke up to a dematerializing TARDIS. The Old Girl must really not like me if she would leave me stranded on the planet of the Daleks. But if that was the case, then why did she let me in in the first place? Perhaps she knew that I was traveling with a future Doctor and didn't want me to die just yet. But then again, Skaro isn't exactly human-friendly. So why would she-

Just then, a ludicrous thought occurred to me.

 _No. She couldn't possibly hate me_ that _much._ I thought.

How else could I get off this godforsaken planet, though? That's why, with a dejected sigh, I ran out the control room door (death ray free thankfully, thanks to the Daleks being overwhelmed by their own sewers) and through multiple hallways as soon as the TARDIS had fully dematerialized and left me behind. I had ran past a room, but as soon as I heard a Dalek saying, "you are a Time Lord" I backed up and ran into the room.

There, standing in the middle of the room and surrounded by Daleks, was Missy.

She had turned a complete circle before speaking. "You know what?" She smirked. "I just had a very clever idea."

Then she noticed me. "Oh! Look who's come to join the party. Come on," Missy beckoned me to stand next to her, "it's alright. I don't bite… much." She snickered.

With a nice "fuck you" face clearly plastered on, I walked over to Missy.

Next thing I knew, I was being grabbed by my arms and had her voice whispering in my ear. "You and I are going to have a _lot_ of fun, poppet." Her malicious grin was the last thing I saw before her arm came barreling down and knocked me out cold.

 **Chapter 6 is up and much faster than I thought it'd be! I hope you guys enjoyed it, and remember, me receiving a review is like the 11th Doctor receiving fish fingers with custard.**


	7. You Blow My Mind, And Also The Universe

The first thing I noticed when I regained consciousness was the feeling of something cold, round and metal around my hands. Handcuffs, I realized.

I groggily opened my eyes, and found myself to be slumped in a sitting position against a brick wall in an alleyway. I honestly was surprised that Missy hadn't thrown me in a dumpster and abandoned me there.

When my vision cleared, what was once a purple blob became a woman in a victorian dress, leaning against the wall opposite to me. An all too familiar woman.

"How'd we escape?" Was the first thing to come out of my mouth.

"Brilliantly." She answered smugly. I didn't bother pushing her.

"Why am I handcuffed?"

"So I can cut your hands off without any unnecessary squirming if I please."

I made a face at that. "Seriously, why?"

"Seriously. Why are you so bothersome?"

I sighed. "Why did you bring me with you?"

"Well, it'd be awfully boring to let you just die in the blink of an eye."

"Thanks." I said sarcastically.

"Don't thank me just yet, poppet."

"Ugh, kill me now."

"I'm getting there." She said sternly. "Be patient."

I dropped my head, shaking it in vexation. "Where are we?"

"My, my, you sure do ask a _lot_ of questions."

I groaned, bringing my head back up again to lean against the wall. Bad idea. My head hit the bricks and brought on a spark of pain. I tried getting up. Second bad idea. I fell right back onto my rear.

Missy looked more than amused at my attempts. I looked at her, irritated. "Could you please undo these things?" I shook my hands behind my back for emphasis.

The Time Lady tilted her head and began looking over her nails as though she was going to claw my eyes out with them. "Nope." She said, popping the "p."

"Is there anything you _can_ do?!" I was yelling at her now, beyond aggravated.

Her head suddenly snapped in my direction. "Careful, Emma. Make sure you don't get on my bad side." She sounded absolutely serious and it scared me to death.

"Isn't everybody on your bad side?"

"Do you mistake me for a Dalek?" She seemed thoroughly offended.

After a few seconds of silence, Missy took a deep breath through her nose. She walked forward and grabbed a fistful of my shirt. She tugged and pulled me to my feet. I was about to thank her, but then thought better of it.

"Look," I began calmly, "I just want to return to my Doctor, alright? Let me get out of your hair, please?"

Missy pouted. "But it's been so long since I've had a toy to play with." Then she narrowed her eyes. "On the other hand, I should probably test this new vortex manipulator out, and I know an excellent way of getting the Doctor's attention." She grinned at me.

I was being literal when I said that Missy liked to watch the world burn. Her idea of getting the Doctor's attention: setting a world on fire.

We were standing on a mountain; the fire hadn't reached it yet. And lucky us, we got a perfect view of the burning cities, wildlife, and people.

I was about to scream "are you crazy" at her before I remembered that yeah, she was. Instead, I settled for screaming "what the _fucking_ hell, Missy! What is wrong with you?"

"Oh, come on, Emma! You know me!" She said playfully.

"All too well. And apparently, you know me, too. So come on, spill." I ordered her, frustrated.

"Oh, alright. I may have overheard the High Council talking about you during the Time War."

"Whoa there, hold the phone. The Time War? How long have the Time Lords known about me?"

"That, dear, is anyone's guess."

I blew out some air through my nose and looked to my left. Unfortunately, the only view was of the screaming people in the destroyed cities. Youthful people that were supposed to have their whole lives ahead of them. People with families, friends. It sickened me. Here I was, just standing safely out of the way. Shouldn't I be helping? That was my job, after all. But I stood still, rooted to the spot. Something deep and hollow was building up inside my chest, something breaking through the walls, clawing it's way up into my brain.

My face fell as I looked into the flames. The destructive orange lights went from terrifying to mystifying. They were dancing… dancing as though this were a party. Something to be enjoyed, to relish in. This was a game, a game of tag. The flames would touch someone and shout "you're it!" It was conflicting, interesting, bewildering. It was… astounding…

I blinked as I snapped myself out of it. I couldn't think like that. I couldn't think like… like _Missy_.

"Oh, look at that." Missy's voice called out.

I looked at her, only to see that she was looking downwards. Following her gaze, I looked down as well and saw the trees not far below us had caught fire.

"Guess we better get out of here before we're _roasted_." She declared.

I started to protest. "But, the Doctor-"

She interrupted me. "It seems like he isn't coming this time around. Shall we move on to our next destination?"

With one last look at the dancing, weaving flames, I obliged.

Our next destination was a resort, funnily enough. What wasn't funny, however, was how Missy had aggravated the land sharks and brought them over to the resort.

Okay, I'll admit, it was a little funny seeing the land sharks, who were used to a terrain of dirt or sand, try and move around on the stones. But that was it. There was nothing else about this situation that was amusing in any way.

After everyone had either been viciously slaughtered or had gone running off with a hoard of agitated sharks on their trail, Missy began navigating her way through the dead bodies, stepping over or around them. I followed, not wanting to be left behind. She made her way over to the snack bar and poured two glasses of an unidentifiable drink. Holding one out to me, she asked if I wanted some. I politely declined, to which she said "your loss" and took a sip of her glass.

I leaned on the booth. "How can you be more than fine with all of this?"

"Believe me, Emma, one day you'll understand."

Her words set me on edge. "I highly doubt that."

She gave me a look that clearly said that she wasn't the only one doubting what I had said.

Next up was the wealthiest family in the Andromeda Galaxy. Missy had stolen their most prized diamond and the family had sent their guards with laser guns after us.

"Why?" I wondered as we were running.

"Why not?" Missy called back to me.

I rolled my eyes just as I had an idea. I stopped running, leaned over and held my hands up. One of the lasers that the guards had shot hit my handcuffs, and they fell off.

I laughed as I began running again, shouting, "freedoooom!"

I grinned at Missy once I caught up to her, and she began outright laughing.

A few stops later was the Sphinx, and as you could guess, Missy caused havoc there as well. She created massive floods, ruining the peasants' harvests and destroying multiple houses.

The Native Americans, World War Two, countless of planets. Some of which I had visited before, some that were completely new to me, and some that I had only heard of. We saw the sights, Missy killed the citizens, we ran like crazy. You know, good times.

Our latest adventure: bombing the city of Weldisnoy on the planet Marachy. We were sitting on the hillside, watching, as we ate the local food for a picnic. I couldn't focus on the destruction, though. All I could see were the lights. The orange and red glow emanating from the explosions. It was so… beautiful. It was… similar. So similar…

My mind drifted. I was trying to remember where I had seen those colors before, why it was so familiar. I regretted it as soon as I found my answer. The factory…

My face twisted in pain as I recalled what had happened there. No. I couldn't think about it. Especially not now. Instead, I forced my attention onto what I was eating. It had the same taste and texture as a croissant, but looked like a stick of butter.

Beside me, I could hear Missy saying to me, "oh, Emma, I'll make a murderer of you yet."

I thought of the explosions, of their extreme similarity, and I knew that Missy was too late. I had already beat her to the punch long ago.

 _I'm nuts, baby, I'm mad,_

 _The craziest friend that you've ever had_

 _You think I'm psycho, you think I'm gone_

 _Tell the psychiatrist something is wrong_

 _Over the bend, entirely bonkers_

 _You like me best when I'm off my rocker_

 _Tell you a secret, I'm not alarmed_

 _So what if I'm crazy? The best people are_

 _Mad Hatter,_ Melanie Martinez

 **Yes, another short chapter. Please don't kill me. I've got a day off today, so I'm planning on writing all day. I might be able to post the next chapter in the next few days, but I'm not quite sure. I love reviews almost as much as I love Doctor Who.**


	8. I Crash A Party

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

These people have necks way too long for their own good. They've also been celebrating new years for two centuries. Recognise it yet? Because I sure didn't.

I had lost Missy in the crowd somewhere and was wandering around, trying to find her. I had tried shouting her name multiple times, but I could just barely hear my own voice over the roaring music. Perhaps this is why the inhabitants of this planet all used their form of sign language.

About ten minutes after looking for her, I bumped into somebody, and a pair of sunglasses dropped to the floor. I mumbled an apology before walking off again.

At least, I would have had the person not grabbed my arm.

I looked back and was about to yell a rude comment at them before I saw who it was.

Once again, I was face to face with Clara Oswald.

"Hey, Emma! What're you doin' here?" Her speech was slurred and she wore a lopsided grin. It wouldn't take Sherlock Holmes to figure out that she had been hitting the bottle.

"Oh, hey." I laughed lightly. "Um, I was just passing through with a friend of mine-" _A friend? Since when was Missy a friend?_ "-but I'm gonna be leaving soon."

"Oh, come on! Stay, please? The Doctor really wants to meet you."

I don't think she knew just how much that would make me want to run in the opposite direction as fast as I could. The Doctor? Wanting to meet me? No thanks. I've already gone through enough deja vu.

But Clara's grip on my arm was strong, and I couldn't pull free. Then, I just barely heard a thick Scottish accent yelling through the crowd, and not the one I wanted to hear.

"Clara, there you are! And-" His eyes narrowed when he saw me.

I tried to look as innocent as I could even though I've been hanging out with the Queen of Evil, giving a small wave. I leaned over to the intoxicated woman that was still gripping my arm and mumbled in her ear, "Clara, you can let go now."

"Oh, yeah, sorry."

The twelfth Doctor looked accusingly at me, as though I would've done something to hurt Clara, and said something that looked suspiciously like "how did you get here", but I couldn't be sure.

"What?" I yelled to him. Even though he was standing right in front of me, I still couldn't hear a word he said when he tried saying it again.

"'Ham is your best friend?'" I questioned.

He sighed in annoyance before motioning for me to follow him. So, with the Doctor in front, Clara in tow, and me sandwiched in the middle, we weaved through the crowd. I had thought about dashing off and away from them, but that would only get me in even more trouble than I already was. At first I was wondering where we were going, but I wasn't left that way for long. After going through a few corridors, we rounded a corner and I was left again admiring that big blue box.

That admiration was soon gone though when I remembered what she had done back on Skaro.

He opened the door and walked inside, beckoning for me to do the same. That control room was more homely, that much was true, but it all felt wrong. The round things weren't supposed to be grey, it was much better without all the books lining the wall, the scanners should be round, and there should definitely be more chairs.

As soon as we were all inside, the Doctor snapped his fingers, closing the doors, and whispered something to Clara, who left the console room.

"Now," the Doctor turned around to face me, and scowled when he saw me leaning on the console. He snapped and pointed to the floor in front of him. I sighed, making my way to where he pointed. He then swiftly walked away and stepped over to the console, probably making sure I hadn't touched anything. "What were you doing on that planet?"

"Hitching a ride from your best bud." I answered truthfully.

He frowned. "Missy… Why were you with her?"

"It was either that or dying, thanks to your TARDIS."

The Old Girl gave a noise of complaint.

"How do you know what she's called?"

"I know a lot of things that I really shouldn't. For instance, you wear question mark underpants."

"Right, okay." He walked over, towering over me, and stared me down. "Come out with it."

"Well," I started carefully, "this might sound ridiculous, but from where I used to live, your life was a TV show."

The Doctor frowned even more, before walking over to the console once again and leaned over to look at the scanner after pressing some buttons. He took a few seconds to read whatever was on the scanner before addressing me again.

"It says here that you've been through the rift, through dimensions, _and_ through time as well as space." He looked up at me critically. "You may have gained certain abilities when you passed through the rift, allowing you to see into the future."

I facepalmed, then pinched the bridge of my nose. "You can't be serious." I mumbled.

"Oh, I'm perfectly serious. You're time sensitive."

I raised my eyebrows. "You make it sound like I'm allergic to time."

"Like it or not, that's what you are. The whole deal with my life being a TV show is likely just your mind coming up with a cover story since it can't quite comprehend your ability."

I gave a humourless laugh. "Yeah, right. _I'm_ the one that can't comprehend the truth."

"Listen, you're time sensitive and you've been hanging around Missy. That's an extremely dangerous combination. So you must tell me, have you told her any details at all?"

"I'd have to be extremely stupid to do that."

"Well, with you pudding brains, you can never be sure."

I scowled at that. "Takes one to know one."

His scowl matched mine. "Lookie here, small human. Despite your gallivanting across the universe with one of the most dangerous people alive, Clara still believes you're not as bad as you may seem. I, on the other hand, have no such faith in you." _Way to put it bluntly._ "I hope you'll do your best to prove me wrong."

It took a while for me to find my bedroom. It's not that I got lost or anything, it's just that the TARDIS kept leading me off track and sending me to so many different rooms. I had a feeling that I never would have gotten to my destination if the Doctor hadn't ordered the TARDIS to lead me to a bedroom. He had said that it was too great of a risk to dump me off somewhere. That if any greedy aliens got their hands on me and figured out that I was "time sensitive", the consequences would be disastrous. That's why he agreed to let me stay aboard his TARDIS for the time being. Although, exactly how long "the time being" would be was anyone's guess. There's no doubt my Doctor would have left the ice planet already, I wasn't even sure if he would be looking for me or if he would have moved on already. And Missy…

Why I would even want to return to her, I had no idea. I really didn't enjoy all of the destruction and death that she created, did I? But, on the other hand, we did have some good laughs together that weren't about killing people. Before my time with Missy, I couldn't even remember the last time I truly laughed about something. But she would almost definitely have moved on by now. She never really cared, after all. She was just playing around with me like I was her "toy."

I stared up at my starry ceiling, collapsed on my bed, as all of these thoughts passed through my head, and before I knew it, I was drifting asleep.

I was startled awake by a knock on my door. Expecting it to be the twelfth Doctor, I opened the door, not caring that I looked like a mess.

Instead, I got an Oswald in my face.

I immediately closed the door, embarrassed, and made myself more presentable before opening it again.

Clara stood there with an amused smile on her face. "Hello." Her voice was as kind as always.

"Hey." I tried to match her kindness as I greeted her. "Come on in."

She entered my room and sat down on my bed that I had swiftly made. "Nice room." She commented before getting to the reason why she was there. "The Doctor told me about what's going on. So, I suppose you're stuck here, huh?"

"Yeah." It came out more peeved than I meant it to.

"He gave you a pretty stern welcome, didn't he?" It wasn't really phrased as a question.

I chuckled. And sat down next to her. "You bet."

"Sorry about him." The apology came from her big brown eyes as well. I found myself getting lost in them. The amount of times I had wished to see those eyes… "He doesn't seem to know the meaning of the word 'sympathetic.'"

"Oh, he's not that bad." I said to her, remembering all the times I had seen the twelfth Doctor's core, seen him at his weakest as well as strongest points. Each time, I remembered the raw emotion coming off from him.

"Hmm…" Next to me, I could tell Clara was doing the same. "The Doctor said you could see into the future. Can you see into the past as well?" She had brought up the subject hesitantly, probably aware that it may be something I wouldn't really want to talk about.

I found myself wondering, just for a moment, if I should tell her the truth. Tell her how I wasn't really time sensitive and how I knew about future events because of a TV show. Those thoughts, however, were immediately dismissed once any thought of the Doctor came into the equation. He was too stubborn, that man. He would always refuse to believe that his life was being displayed on television in an alternate universe. And there was no doubt that if I told Clara about the TV show, that even if she did believe me, she would confront the Doctor about it and then he would dismiss any suspicions that what I was saying was true from her mind. After all, he was the expert on these kind of things. In the end, I decided to lie to her. To go with the Doctor's story.

Well, not completely.

"Yeah, I can see past events as well as future and sometimes present events as well, but, uh, the thing is, I can only see events that are somehow connected to the Doctor or his companions."

"So, how much do you know about me, then?"

"Oh, um, quite a bit actually. You work as an English schoolteacher at Coal Hill right now but you used to be a nanny for the Maitlands, who were family friends of yours."

 _I'm your daughter._

"Your first memorable meeting with the Doctor was when he was in his eleventh incarnation and you were twenty-seven years old. You're twenty-eight years old now, going on twenty-nine on November twenty-third."

 _You're my mother._

"Your mom died when you were nineteen years old on March fifth, two-thousand-five."

 _You have a daughter. It's me._

The urge to just shout it out was so overwhelming that I actually did slip up. I had said "you have a-" before I realized what I was saying and quickly covered it up with "-book called one hundred and one places to see."

"Okay," Clara cut me off, laughing, "you can stop there. _Wow._ Some of those aren't even major details."

I just shrugged, not knowing how to explain my knowledge to her.

"Well, I hope you'll enjoy your stay." I then became shocked when she planted a kiss on my forehead. Not only was I not expecting it, but it seemed so… _motherly._ And when she pulled away, she looked a bit confused as well. Her expression quickly returned to normal, though. "Good luck with the grouchy old man and, you should know, if ever you need something, you can always come to me, alright?"

I forced a smile and gave a nod at her, still a little surprised at the forehead kiss. As soon as Clara got up from my bed and left the room, closing the door behind her, I dropped down onto my bed and lay there for a few minutes, staring blankly at the stars above.

Soon enough, though, my impatience kicked in and I couldn't sit still much longer. I wandered through the corridors until I found the console room, and sure enough, the Doctor and Clara were there. I walked in just as the TARDIS landed.

"Oh, Emma, you're just in time." Clara greeted me as I stood in the doorway between the console room and the corridor. "We were just about to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the Doctor cut in. "Erm, ah, no. We're not- she's not coming with us."

"What?" Clara looked affronted. "Why not?"

"She could still be dangerous. We might be putting others at risk by bringing her with us."

"Oh, come on." Clara protested.

"How am I supposed to prove you wrong if you don't even give me a chance?" I asked.

"Look, one day I might let you come with us but today is not that day." The Doctor told me. He walked to the TARDIS doors. "Clara, with me. You." He snapped his fingers as he pointed at me. "Don't. Touch. Anything. You'll end up flying yourself into the sun and then where will we be?"

And with that, the Doctor exited the TARDIS, and along with an apologetic look, Clara did too. The closing door echoed behind them as I was left behind.

Hours upon hours later, I was sat in the library. That's where Clara found me. I was in the middle of reading _Magnus Chase and the Gods of Asgard: The Sword of Summer_ by Rick Riordan, on chapter thirty-five. I had explored the TARDIS quite a lot in my free time. I found the kitchen, all the nearby bathrooms, the storage room, my mom's room, and I was able to memorize the path from the console room to my bedroom.

Clara sat down in a chair next to me. "Hey, I'm sorry you couldn't come with us today. It seems the pilot is more perturbed than I originally thought."

"It's alright. I've had years of adventure already. Besides, he'll come around. He always does."

Unfortunately, he didn't come around the next day, or the next, not even the one after that, and I was slowly going insane from boredom. Not to mention my ADHD was flipping out. I couldn't concentrate on anything. I couldn't read to calm myself, I could barely finish one thought before another one came, and I was bouncing off the walls. The worst days were the days without Clara. Usually, after an adventure and before we went to sleep, we would wander the corridors of the TARDIS; sometimes doing an activity, sometimes just talking. But when she left to go back to her job as a teacher, it was just the Doctor and I. And needless to say, he didn't want to be bothered by an "annoying, small pudding brain."

But after seventeen days of trying to stay sane aboard a ship that hates my guts, there came a part that I recognised.

I had been aimlessly wandering the corridors of the vast spaceship when, all of a sudden, I was thrown to the wall. The TARDIS shook as I steadied myself and started running towards the console room. This was my chance to prove myself useful and show the Doctor that I wasn't a destructive maniac like Missy.

As soon as I entered the console room, a bunch of sparks erupted from my right, forcing me to stumble away. In fact, there were sparks coming from somewhere practically every second. Looking around, I found the Doctor in the console room as well. He was standing near the console, with the phone in his hand, speaking to someone.

"Clara, I'm under attack from four and a bit battle fleets in case you think I'm slacking!" He sounded more than stressed, maybe I could help relieve him of some of it.

I ran up to the console, looking at one of the scanners. On it was the fleet of battleships behind us. I could see a pattern in their shooting, and, anticipating their next few shots, I grabbed hold of the directional pointer and steered us into a sharp right.

The Doctor finally noticed me and, with a bit of an attitude, asked what the hell I was doing.

"Helping!" I shouted back. "You talk, I'll steer."

"You can't fly her!"

"You wanna bet, spaceman?"

I had watched enough of the show, watched enough of my Doctor, and read enough info-books to get the basics of how to fly a TARDIS.

"Doctor," I could hear Clara's voice over the phone, "I think there's something in my spacesuit."

"Yes, that's possible, actually." The Doctor replied as I continued dodging the shots coming from the ships behind us. "You were too long in the spider mines."

"Okay, explain?" Clara asked, sounding a little panicked.

"It's possibly a Love Sprite. Sucks your brain-" Another blast of sparks interrupted his explanation. "Sucks your brain out through your mouth, hence the name "

"It's coming up my leg."

Hang on a second, that wasn't right. In the show, she said that it was halfway up her leg.

"Don't worry, it's just hungry!"

"Oh, yeah, like that's going to reassure her!" I cut in.

"Is that Emma?" Clara asked.

"Yes, she's steering." The Doctor answered.

"She can fly the TARDIS?"

"Don't ask. Describe the four most interesting stars you can see."

After Clara had described the nearby space from her point of view and had said that the Love Sprite was on the back of her head, once again different from the show, I heard the Doctor yell "switch" as he put the phone back. I stepped back from the console, allowing him to put in the coordinates. As soon as the TARDIS materialised around Clara, I ran over to her, lifting up her helmet, looking inside to make sure the Love Sprite was in there, and threw the creature to the TARDIS floor, then proceeding to stomp it to death.

After recovering from a coughing fit, Clara stood up and walked over to the console. "How did we do?"

"Oh, not a word about my spot-on materialisation skills." The Doctor replied.

"What about all the Velosians? Are they safe?"

"Yeah. Well, we lured their attackers halfway across the universe-"

"-and drained their weapons banks." I finished.

"Not to mention, we also saved a school teacher from having her brains devoured and being asphyxiated in deep space."

"So now, if you don't mind, I'm going to go wipe my shoe on the grass."

Doing just that, I heard a pair of footsteps following me. I looked back to see the Doctor standing in front of the closed TARDIS door.

"What?" I asked him, the bitterness in my voice not lost. "Afraid I might set the entire forest on fire?"

He paused before speaking. "You did good, just then. You could have stood back and done nothing but…you helped and uh…" He glanced behind him and I could see Clara standing in the doorway. It was then that I realised that the Doctor and Clara had been talking about this in the TARDIS. "I, um, _appreciate_ it… and…"

"Oh, just spit it out already." Clara said, getting impatient with him.

The Doctor's voice became more stable and serious afterwards. "I think Clara was right about you. You're not so easily influenced by Missy and, next time, I'd be willing to let you come with us if you'd like."

I looked back and forth between the Doctor and Clara in astonishment. "Wait, seriously?"

The Doctor held up his finger. "With close supervision, of course."

At that point, I didn't even care. I would finally be able to get out of that blasted spaceship! "Oh, thank you. Thank you!" I ran forward and enveloped the Doctor in a hug, even though I knew that he would protest.

Clara, on the other hand, gladly welcomed a hug, as she closed the TARDIS door behind her.

The happiness didn't last long, however, because then the sound of swords being unsheathed were heard and in a split second, we had the swords at our necks.

The Doctor, especially, was very unpleased with the appearance of the people holding the swords. "No, no, not Vikings. I'm not in the mood for Vikings!"

"You're coming with us." The leader of the Vikings said.

"No. I'm not." The Doctor argued. "Do you want to know why?"

As the Doctor reached into his pocket to pull out his sonic sunglasses, the Vikings growled and made a variety of other angry noises at him.

"On my face, right now, more advanced technology than your species will manage over the next nine million years."

I couldn't help but snort after the leader walked forward, grabbing the Doctor's sunglasses from off his face and snapping them in two.

"Clara, Emma."

"Yeah?"

"We're going with the Vikings."

That's how we ended up on a longboat for two days, with the Doctor almost constantly telling Clara that yes, indeed, he does have a plan. In all honesty, it gave me way too much time to think. My mind went back to the Doctor's words. _You're not so easily influenced by Missy._ I couldn't help but think about that picnic with her, watching the city get blown apart. I couldn't help but think about all of the reasons why the Doctor was wrong. I thought about what had happened recently. What Clara had said. Or rather, what she hadn't said. She had mentioned the Love Sprite being on the back of her head when it was supposed to be the back of her neck. That means that my being there had distracted the Doctor and allowed the Love Sprite to get farther than it had in the show. Which meant that I'd have to be extremely careful to not change the events if something as small as being present almost killed a person. But most of all, I thought about a conversation I had with the Doctor soon after my conversation with Clara. I had been in my room when the Doctor knocked on my door. He didn't even give me a chance to say hello before speaking in a very serious tone.

" _Why didn't you tell me you could only see events related to me or my companions? That's very strange for a time sensitive."_

" _Well, maybe it's so strange because_ I'm not time sensitive."

 _He scowled. "I'm doing you a favour by allowing you to stay in my TARDIS. If you continue to waste my time with your pesky denies of who you really are, I might just change my mind."_

Would he really, though? Would he actually chuck me out? Perhaps things were different now that he knew I wasn't like Missy… I could only hope that was the case. Because if the Doctor got too angry and decided he didn't want me around anymore, I'd have nowhere to go.

I was extremely relieved once we reached the Viking village. Finally, some action. Not only that, but I was also looking for a certain face. It wasn't long before she came into view.

Ashildr. Probably the main reason why I wanted to come along for this adventure. I wanted to meet her, especially at the beginning.

I wasn't paying attention during the Doctor's conversations with Clara or his show of pretending to be Odin. Instead, I was focused on Ashildr. I was focused on her facial expressions; how it went from confused when the Doctor threw his manacles at the chief to unimpressed when he brought out his yo-yo. I was focused on her hands; the way they kept fidgeting with the broken piece of the Doctor's sonic sunglasses. I was completely focused on her body language, storing away all of these little facts in my brain for later. For comparison.

I only started to pay attention when the sky above rumbled and I heard a deep voice bellow out. "Oh, my people. I am Odin, and now your day of reward has finally dawned."

The people began kneeling down, to which the Doctor said, "do not believe this foolish trickery!" He throws his yo-yo up but it falls back down, getting caught on his hand. "It's supposed to do that." He said, not very convincingly.

The face in the sky continued talking. "Your mightiest warriors will feast with me tonight in the halls of Valhalla."

Rays of light were cast down and five Mire warriors appeared. All of them approached the group, scanning each person to see how fit they were. Me? I was watching Clara now. Waiting for her to run over to Ashildr. I didn't have to wait long, and when she did, she called out for me to follow her.

"Do you still have that eyepatch thing?" Clara asked Ashildr once we got to her. Ashildr brought the half of the sunglasses out and Clara guided her hand to her eye. "Point it at our chains and think the word 'open.'" Out of the corner of my eye, I could see more of the Vikings disappear. We were running out of time. "Say it with your mind." The sonic sunglasses began working just as the Mire turned towards us. I could hear the Doctor shouting our names, and I could feel my hands being freed from the chains just as a weightless feeling took over, indicating we had been teleported.

As soon as the weightless feeling began, it stopped, and I opened my eyes not realising that I had even closed them. Clara, Ashildr and I stood up as one of the younger Vikings greeted us. We hear a man grunting and turn around to see the leader of the Vikings forcing the door open with his axe. In the next room stood nothing but a walkway to another door and rows of fans lining the walls.

The Viking chuckled before moving on to the next door, but Clara wasn't quite convinced.

"No, wait. Wait!" She tried getting him to stop.

"There is nothing to fear, strange maiden." He said as the fan blades began to activate. "We are Odin's chosen!"

Just then, energy discharged from the fans and the Viking leader got caught in the middle of them and completely disappeared. His helmet and axe were the only sign he had even existed, and they dropped to the floor. Something that sounded like machinery cogs began moving, and suddenly, the wall began to move too, which one of the Vikings pointed out.

"Odin! Odin!" Ashildr began yelling, as though he would really be coming to help us.

"Use your blades, try to jam it!" Clara told the Vikings, and they did just that. Unfortunately, it didn't quite work.

Clara grabbed Ashildr while shouting for me and the three of us ran to the other door.

"Quick! Pull!" Clara shouted.

"What do you think we're doing?" I grunted back at her, stressed. I hadn't been touching the sonic sunglasses like Clara and Ashildr had been, so I had no idea whether I would still be alive by the end of this or not.

"Quickly!" She said again, as the Vikings were forced into the passageway and the fans began to rotate once more.

I dreamed of butterflies and prairies. No, seriously, I did.

I was sitting alone atop a hill, not watching explosions, simply watching a swarm of monarchs fly by from right to left. When they were finally out of view, I looked to my right again, and for some reason wasn't surprised when I saw a woman in a blue waitress outfit and a ponytail that definitely wasn't sitting there a minute ago. I recognised her immediately. How could I not? It was my mother, after all.

"It's beautiful, isn't it?" She asked me.

"I wish every day could be like this." I said sadly.

"I know, sweetheart." She wrapped an arm around me, and somehow I wasn't surprised by the gesture or wording either. "But that's why we've got to enjoy the days we have because you never know when it all will end." My mom raised her hand and rested it on my cheek. "Make the most of it, alright? Do that for me."

I could feel tears welling up in my eyes as I put my hand over hers. "Please don't go, Mom."

"You've got to wake up now, Emma."

I shook my head.

"Emma, wake up. _Wake up._ "

 _It ain't easy to say goodby_

 _Darling pleasy don't start to cry_

 _'Cause girl you know I've got to go_

 _And Lord I wish it wasn't so_

 _Save tonight and fight the break of dawn_

 _Come tomorrow - tomorrow I'll be gone_

 _Save tonight and fight the break of dawn_

 _Come tomorrow - tomorrow I'll be gone_

 _Save Tonight,_ Eagle-Eye Cherry

 **Okay, I definitely did not expect to write about 4900 words in two days. I guess I just sort of had a writing surge. Hopefully I'll be able to keep it up into the next chapter! Please remember to leave a review!**


	9. Oh Yeah, Chess Was Created By Time Lords

**Disclaimer: I do not own Doctor Who**

I nearly collided heads with Clara when my eyes snapped open. As it turns out, it was her hand on my cheek, and she was the one telling me to wake up. My eyes widened as a thought occurred to me. Did I mumble "mom" in my sleep? Surely Clara would have thought I was talking about someone else if I did, though. But the part of me that was panicking wouldn't allow me to think straight. What if she figured it out? Would things change for the better? Would I finally have a mother in my life? Or would she be too shocked and uncertain to want me? I didn't exactly come off as kind when we first met.

Coming back to reality, though, Clara, seeming satisfied, whispered "shh" to me before getting up. As I got up too, I noticed that Ashildr was already awake and standing. We ventured forward, seeing tubes filling with green liquid and Viking helmets and weapons scattered on the floor.

"Why are we still alive?" Ashildr asked, shaken.

"Because of this." "Odin's" voice echoed throughout his ship. He was holding up and studying the broken piece of sonic sunglasses. "Explain."

As Clara began her clever speech, I was running a hypothesis through my brain.

Question: What if I stopped Ashildr from declaring war on the Mire?

Hypothesis: The Mire would leave in peace, the Doctor wouldn't have his realisation of where he got his face from, but most of all, Ashildr wouldn't die and then be resurrected. Meaning, Rigsy would never have been called to trap street, Clara wouldn't die, and because her death wasn't changed directly, no reapers would appear. Probably.

Conclusion: There would be less suffering, more time for fun and games, and perhaps, with enough time, I might actually gather up the courage to tell Clara the truth…

"Ask yourself, is this a war you really want?"

Here we go, it was now or never.

A pause. A breath. Ashildr breathed in, full of anger. One word and it was all over.

I placed my hand over her mouth, effectively muffling her speech. I then leant over to whisper in her ear. "Don't do something you'll regret."

She nodded. Naively believing her, I brought my hand down. Immediately, without giving me a chance to react, she stepped forward and yelled, "yes!"

"Ashildr!" I whisper-yelled at her. _The little bitch._

She carried on, paying me no attention. "You'll pay for what you have done here today. I am a Viking. Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. You have mocked our gods. Killed our warriors. And we will crush you on the field of battle."

"That's better!" The false god enthused.

"We were about to leave." Clara said, still trying to prevent the oncoming war.

I cursed. I should have kept Ashildr's mouth shut.

"You almost had me talking. Talk is for cowards."

"No, no, no. Listen to me." Clara attempted in vain.

"I accept your challenge."

"We will crush you." Ashildr declared, to which Clara and I told her to shut her goddamn mouth.

"Shall we say this time tomorrow? Ten of my warriors versus the best of your village."

"You will beg for mercy." Ashildr was going for intimidating, but the leader of the Mire just laughed.

"I will send you back. You can inform your people of their impending destruction."

"Why are you doing this?" Clara asked.

"Why else? The joy of war. Can't you see it on my face?"

He pressed a button on his bracer, and the hologram he had on switched off. His face, well, let's just say I couldn't see where the teeth ended and the bones began. But one thing was for sure: it was not a pleasant parting gift.

I wasn't surprised when I didn't get a hug. Ashildr got a hug. Clara got a hug. Me? Nope. No hug. But not only did I not get a hug, I didn't even get acknowledged. I was at least expecting a "welcome back" or maybe some sarcastic comment. But the Doctor didn't even look at me. Either he wasn't comfortable around younger humans, or the dude still loathed me. I knew which one I was putting my money on; if I had money, that is.

On our way to the meeting house, Ashildr had come up to me. "I'm sorry." She had said. "I shouldn't have tricked you and… I should have listened."

I sighed, looking down at the ground. "You know," I replied, "I really can't blame you. I've made some decisions very similar to yours. I know what it's like, wanting justice. But sometimes you just have to let things go because your justice can be someone else's sacrifice, and there's no honour in that." I grabbed hold of Ashildr's shoulders gently and looked her in the eyes. "The important thing, though, is that we learn from our mistakes. Got it?"

She nodded, and this time, I could see that she was serious.

During the whole meeting, I didn't say a word. Only raising my hand when the Doctor asked who had ever held a sword in battle. I stared at the floor pretty much the entire time, sometimes glancing at Clara or Ashildr. All I could think about was how I had failed Clara. I hadn't been able to change events and now it was only a matter of time before the raven caught up to her. And while her death wasn't really on my head, I felt like I should have done more. I was part of events now, part of the timeline. If I could make her die sooner, why couldn't I at least stall her death as well? These stupid ass laws of time were getting on my nerves. Perhaps I needed to show them who's boss...

I was brought out of my thoughts by Ashildr.

"Emma's your name, right?"

I nodded.

"Such a usual name for an unusual girl."

A moment of silence came to pass. During it, I noticed that the Doctor and Clara had moved outside before Ashildr spoke again. "We're all going to die, aren't we? My village."

"Don't say that." I told her. "Clara will get the Doctor to see reason, trust me. Sometimes he just needs a little reminder, a push in the right direction."

"He was right, though. None of us are fit for fighting."

"You're Vikings, Ashildr. Your first instinct is to battle, it's what you were taught. Sometimes Vikings forget that head to head combat isn't the only option."

Some sword fighting, a burning village, and a few barrels of eels later, we were ready to roll. As the Doctor, Clara, and the Vikings set everything up, I snuck out of the meeting house to wander around the village. Recognising the house that was Ashildr's, I walked right inside. I was looking at her vast collection of various sized puppets when I heard the door open behind me. I turned my head to see Ashildr standing in the doorway.

"Sorry," I said, "decided to invite myself in."

"I saw you sneak out. Why don't you want to be with everyone else?" She asked.

"I know when I'm needed." I picked up one of Ashildr's smaller puppet's and studied it. "Now is not one of those times. I highly doubt that I'm wanted either."

"Surely the Doctor and Clara would, though. They are friends of yours, aren't they?"

I laughed bitterly. "The Doctor? Helheim, no. He despises every atom of me, I swear. As for Clara, well, things are complicated between her and me."

Ashildr moved to her bed and patted the spot next to her. I took the hint and sat down beside her.

"You know," she started, "you should worry less about what other people want and think more about what you want."

There was a period of silence before I spoke. "What happened to your mother, Ashildr?"

She seemed to have been caught off guard by the question. "Um, she died giving birth to me. Why?"

"Like you, I never had a mother. I didn't have a father, either. I was raised by complete strangers and soon enough they left too. Before I knew it, everyone I knew was gone. My family, my friends…" I looked down at my hands, which were twirling the wooden puppet between my fingers. "Every day I'm surrounded by people, Ashildr, but I am so alone."

The silence stretched for even longer this time until the young woman spoke up. "You could stay here, in the village. We'll need the help to rebuild, too. I'm sure everyone else would be glad to have you here."

I shook my head, thinking of the next eight centuries that were to come until we'd meet again.. "You won't need me. Nobody needs me anymore."

When she didn't respond, I lifted my head up to look at her and found her staring at me sadly. "Are you sure I can't change your mind?"

"Positive."

With a slow nod, she stood up and exited her house.

I just hung my head low, my mom's words from my dream echoing in my head, "make the most of it." Make the most of what? I had nothing left.

I didn't go out after the defeat of the Mire. I didn't go out to see Ashildr's resurrection. I almost didn't even go out to return to the TARDIS on the longboat. At some point, I had fallen asleep in Ashildr's bed. I only woke up when the door swung open, startling me into sitting up.

"There you are." Clara stood in the doorway, and it looked like she had been running. "I was afraid you'd run off."

"And go where?" I asked tiredly.

She smiled softly. "Come on, the Doctor and I have been looking all over for you."

I headed to my bedroom as soon as I entered the TARDIS, not even waiting for the Doctor and Clara to finish talking. I hadn't been able to sleep much on the longboat and I was exhausted. Boats aren't exactly my favourite form of transportation. I collapsed on my bed, drifting to sleep thinking about butterflies and prairies.

It's been weeks since the Doctor first pulled out his curio scanner, and it's been weeks since I've seen Clara. The Doctor and I had been tracking what I knew to be the "Eyes of Hades" that whole time, with no break in between. He didn't even stop searching when I had to go back to the TARDIS and sleep for the day. I wasn't really sure what to think about his asking me to come along. It was probably a good sign meaning that he didn't think me to be incredibly stupid anymore, or it could just be him keeping an eye on me. Either way, I was glad to be out, but I really wished the plot would hurry along already and we could get to the part where we see Ashildr again.

This time, we landed in a forest.

"How close are we?" I asked as we exited, closing the door behind me.

"Not far."

"Thanks." I said sarcastically.

We walked and walked until finally, we reached a road. Not far ahead of us was a coach, and next to the coach riding a horse as black as the night sky was…

The Knightmare! At last things would get interesting.

I stood behind the vehicle, leaning on the chest that contained the amulet. I could have taken it right then and there, but that would interfere with some necessary "bonding" between the Doctor and Ashildr/Me. Besides, it would be much more fun if I let things play out the way they were supposed to.

"Hello!" The Doctor invited himself in cheerily. "Don't mind me, don't mind me. I'm only going to be a minute. Oh, very warm." He declared as the man and woman began shouting.

I rolled my eyes. _Typical._

"What are you doing?" The Knightmare asked, astonished.

"Oh, just ignore us. We're just passing through, like fish in the night."

I snorted and corrected him. " _Ships_ in the night, Doctor."

"Oh, yes, yes. That's right." The Doctor said as he got out of the coach.

"This is a robbery!" The Knightmare sounded completely astounded at our sudden appearance. "This is _my_ robbery! Step aside or I shall blow both of your brains out."

The Doctor looked up at "him." "Sorry, we're you talking to me there? Try again, I promise I'll listen this time."

"You both have interrupted my robbery, sir, and you will step aside if you wish to take another breath."

The man driving the coach said, "you're going to get us all killed if you don't shut your mouth" as the curio scanner began beeping again.

"Sorry." The Doctor said, not sounding sorry at all. "Sorry, I really was planning to listen that time, but basically, ah, I didn't." He followed the beeping to the back of the coach where I was standing, then looked up at me. "Did you know it was here the whole time?"

I sloppily threw my hands up, halfway between a surrender and a "whatever."

"You could have saved us weeks of searching."

"True, but you've gotta admit that those weeks were action packed."

Judging by his face, I could tell that the Doctor had just come to a realisation. He turned back to the Knightmare. "Hang on. If I didn't know better, I'd say this was a robbery."

I sighed, exasperated, and mumbled, "you are so slow."

" _I_ am robbing these people." The Knightmare insisted. " _You_ are getting out of my way."

"I just need one tiny little thing from this box." The Doctor said as I moved out of the way to let him near the box.

"This is my robbery!"

"Well, can't we share it? Isn't that what robbery is all about?"

I shook my head with my hands on my hips as the coach took off, leaving the Doctor and the Knightmare complaining and bickering about who messed up who's heist like a couple of five-year-olds.

That is, until the Doctor said, "at least I show my face, what's wrong with yours" and a familiar young woman's voice said, "nothing, Doctor."

She got off of her horse and took off her facial disguise.

"You." The Doctor stated.

"Yes." Ashildr agreed. "It is me. What took you so long, old man?"

"Old man?"

"It seemed apt. Life expectancy is thirty-five these days. Well, for everyone else."

"But didn't you know it was me?"

"Of course. You don't forget the man who saved your life. It's good to see you two." She nodded at me as well, and I must admit it felt good to know she hadn't completely forgotten me.

"You've got a funny way of showing affection." I told her.

"The Knightmare has a reputation to maintain." She replied in her other voice.

"It's a very good voice. How do you do that?" The Doctor asked her.

"Practice."

"Last time we saw you, you were founding a leper colony. I was so proud of you."

"Proud of me? You weren't even there."

"Yes, I was. You didn't see me, but I saw you."

"And you just left me there?"

"Well, you seemed fine."

"In a leper colony?" Pause. "No matter. You're here now, we should celebrate."

"Oh, no. This isn't a visit. We've got a job to do. Emma and I are here looking for an alien object which has no business being here on Earth in 1651. It was just, it just so happened, you know, that my tracking device, it lead us to the same carriage that you were, you know, robbing. There wasn't, I didn't, it was a-"

"You mean, you haven't come for me?"

My shoulders sagged as I heard the sadness in her voice. How long had she been waiting for the Doctor to arrive and take her away, exactly?

"No. It was just a coincidence. Oh, Ashildr, I'm sorry."

She turned around, confusion etched on her face. "Who's Ashildr?"

"You 's your name." The woman still appeared to be confused, so he continued. "Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. Chuckles, I used to call him Chuckles. Do you remember?"

"Yes. I think I remember the village."

"You loved that village and everything about it." I told her, proceeding to use her previous words. "The sky, the hills, the people…"

Obviously, she had no idea what the Doctor and I were talking about and said flippantly, "if you say so."

"Anyone in that village would have died for you." The Doctor said, carefully watching the woman that used to be Ashildr.

"Well, they're all dead now, and here I am. So, I guess it all worked out."

She said it so carefree, so nonchalant. I stared into her eyes, just as I did when we were walking to the meeting room so long ago, hoping to find an ounce of Ashildr in there. Those eyes that used to be filled with frustration, regret, and wonder had now turned cold and calculating. If there was any trace of the old Ashildr in there, the new one hid it well. Too well.

"Ashildr-"

"That's not my name. I don't even remember that name."

"Well, what? What do you call yourself?"

"Me."

"Yes, you. Who else do you think I'm talking to?"

"No, I call myself Me. All the other names I chose died with whoever knew me. Me is who I am now. No one's mother, daughter, wife. My own companion. Singular. Unattached. Alone. Anyway, I should get started. I'd offer you a ride, but I'm afraid there's not enough room for both of you."

"Oh, that's fine." I said. "Doctor, you go with her. I'll walk."

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" The Doctor asked in what actually seemed to be a concerned voice.

"I can handle myself."

"Do you know the way?" Ashil- _Me_ asked.

"Not a clue."

As Me instructed how to reach her enormous house, both she and the Doctor got onto the horse. After finishing explaining, Me and the Doctor rode away, and I was left with sore feet for the next couple of days.

By the time I was let into Me's house and found the two troublemakers, they were already at the part where Leonardo was revealed. In fact, I opened the door the exact moment where Me's giant cat was breathing fire at the Doctor.

I stood in the doorway, my face blank, thinking of a number of puns I could make right there.

"Not the Doctor, we agreed!" Me yelled at her cat.

The creature's face turned towards me. "What about the girl?"

"I suppose she should stay alive as well."

"Thanks." I said flatly.

"Oh, Ashildr, daughter of Einarr. What happened to you?" The Doctor asked her.

"You did, Doctor." Me's voice was nothing if not filled with detestation. "You happened."

Me had the Doctor tied to a chair in her closet. When I asked why I wasn't tied to a chair as well, she said, "you know when you're needed. Now is not one of those times."

Way to put it bluntly.

That's why, instead, I was sat next to her while she was driving her carriage to Tyburn. Once we arrived, I stood, leaning on the side of the coach with my arms crossed, waiting for the Doctor to show up. Until Ashildr took out the glittering amulet and used it to open the portal, the most I interfered was taking part in some of Sam Swift's jokes. Then, when the crowd began running wildly and Leonardo began attacking the innocent people, I jumped into action. I ran straight towards the lion dude, doing my best to not bump into people, and promptly punched him in the face. My simple plan of getting his attention worked. I ducked, rolled, and did the best I could to avoid his swiping claws, but at the last minute he changed his pattern and swiped to the right instead of in front of him. I yelped in pain as his claws dug through my sweatshirt and into my skin. The three cuts were deep enough to need stitches. I instinctively grabbed my injured left arm with my uninjured right hand and watched as the blood seeped through my white sweater in the areas around the wounds.

I grunted as I complained through my gritted teeth. "I really fucking liked this sweater, too."

I had been expecting another blow, but none came. Instead, I heard Leonardo's voice saying, "you cannot reverse death" and opened one of my closed eyes cautiously. The last thing I saw before being kicked in the head and knocked out by one of the fleeing citizens was Ashildr placing the Mire chip on Sam Swift's forehead and the Doctor running towards me.

"This is ridiculous."

"This is _normal._ "

"I don't understand. How do you humans get anything done when you spend so much of your lives asleep?"

"Hush, Doctor. She needs her rest."

"So I'm supposed to wait because _somebody_ needs their beauty sleep?"

"Do you want her to recover or not?"

"Of course, I do, but-"

It was around that point that I realised I had a pounding headache, and the Doctor and Mes bickering really wasn't helping. I managed to mumble-yell a "shut up, both of you" which seemed to have gotten their attention since they had both quit speaking.

Slowly, I opened my eyes halfway. From what I could see, I wasn't in a hospital, like I expected to be. Instead, I was in a fancy bedroom. The curtains were closed and there wasn't much light in the room at all. I could only just barely make out the figures that were the Doctor and Lady Me. The Doctor was stood on the right side of me with Me on the left. The Doctor was leant over now, one hand on the edge of the bed to hold himself while the other was snapping his fingers in front of my face.

"Hey, sleepyhead, get up. We've got to go."

I swatted his hand away. "Quit it, grouch."

I turned my head to the left to face Me. She wore a comforting smile and an apology was hidden in her eyes.

"Where are we?" I asked sluggishly. I frowned. I couldn't quite concentrate on what I was thinking or saying.

"A guest room in my house." Me answered. "Try not to think very hard; you've got a concussion from when that woman kicked you. It shouldn't be too serious, you'll probably recover within a week, give or take a few days. I stitched up the cuts on your arm, too. They seem to be healing nicely."

I looked down at my left arm, and surely enough, three lines of sutures were in my arm. I thanked Me for all of her help before saying that the Doctor was right, and we really should get going.

"If you insist," she said, "but remember, no adventures for about a week for you."

My face fell. "You kidding me? There's no way I could pull that off again."

"Emma-" Her voice was stern; she needn't elaborate.

"Fine, fine!" I gave in, grumbling, "no adventures for a week."

The Doctor, telling me to stay here, offered to get the TARDIS.

I carefully stood up, which was less trouble than I thought it'd be. Sure, there was some trouble balancing at first, but I quickly got the hang of it. The most annoying thing about my concussion was my headache and inability to think very hard.

With only Me and me left in the room, I was able to ask her something that had been on my mind this whole time. "How much do you remember?"

She took in a breath, and I could tell that she was thinking. After a few seconds of anticipating silence, she answered. "You were strong, yet conflicted. I can remember that much. For exact details, I'll have to check my diaries. Why do you ask?"

I hesitated. Why should I bother telling her? I only knew her from a TV show and the brief moments I had talked with her. But then again, she had just come to the realisation that she did care for others, and I could tell she was doing her best to redeem herself. Perhaps I could help her a little with that. After all, she truly did seem to care now.

"It's just… what you said before, 'you know when you're needed', it just reminded me of how I'm just a pawn in this game called life."

Her face showed great sympathy. "We're all pawns, Emma. Some of us just have more moves than others."

 **I've got nothing new to say, really, so I guess I'll just say the usual: reviews reviews reviews reviews reviews reviews reviews**


	10. Bros Before Hoes, Bonnie

**Disclaimer: Does it need to be said by now? I do not own Doctor Who.**

 _Okay, Emma. Keep it cool, keep it cool. Just act casual. Don't touch anything, you'll break it. No, stop standing so stiffly, she'll notice. Ah, fuck, I'm so screwed._

My mom was showing me around her apartment, and I was almost hyperventilating. It only made my panicking worse that she didn't have a spare bedroom, so we would be sleeping in the same bed since "there's no way you're going to be sleeping on the couch." All of this was only bringing my awkwardness to a whole new level. At least my headache had toned it's shit down a few notches, so there wasn't a constant freaking heavy metal concert going on in my noggin the entire time. And while it was still hard to concentrate, I wasn't feeling as sluggish as before.

For those of you wondering why the hell I'm staying in Clara's apartment instead of the TARDIS, I'll allow you the details.

When the Doctor told Clara why I had stitches in my arm and basically why I looked like shit, she immediately insisted that I go live with her until the stitches could come out and my concussion went away. I, of course, tried to convince her that I was well enough to stay aboard the TARDIS, but she was having none of it, saying that the constant action of the Doctor's life wasn't good for healing and that some normalcy would do me good. When I tried telling her that I'd never had a "normal life" in the first place, she only became more determined to take me in. Knowing that there was no changing her mind, the Doctor agreed to let me stay with her. I didn't exactly get a say in the matter.

The Doctor had made some fake forms and given them to Clara. Apparently, they were supposed to be from social services, the court, et cetera, stating that Clara Oswald was my temporary legal guardian until my "unfortunate circumstances" changed. I almost laughed at the ridiculousness of what was happening.

For the first few days, Clara managed to get a substitute teacher to replace her while she looked after me. Not much happened, however. It was mainly sleep, eat, repeat, with some painkillers thrown in there for my headache. Not to mention my stitches were constantly itchy. Luckily, they were wrapped in gauze. When night came, I always tried to stay as far to the right of Clara's bed as I could so that we weren't anywhere near each other.

On day five, I could walk about without falling over my own two feet, and was able to convince Clara to head back to Coal Hill. Sure, the day was more boring, but at least I didn't have my mother, who didn't even know she was my mother, fussing over me.

On day ten, my headache was practically gone, and I could finally look at light without having a sharp pain in my head. Clara and I had also gone to the hospital to get my stitches removed that day. Finally, the itching went away and was replaced with three long scars running across my arm.

On day eleven, I went outside. I had just gone for a walk down to the park, but on the way back, I had lost my way. I wandered the streets for a little while, trying to find my own way out of my current predicament, before coming to the conclusion that I would need to ask for directions. Finally reaching Clara's apartment, I had just finished closing the door when I was attacked with a hug. When it ended, I could see a worried Clara looking at me with her hands on my shoulders.

"Where were you? I was afraid something had happened to you!"

"I-" I couldn't help but stumble over my words in my answer. It had been a while since someone had bothered to show even that much care towards me. "I was just, um, headed to the, uh, park a-and back."

She let out a breath. "Just tell me next time you head out, okay?"

"What is this? Prison?"

"You're my responsibility." She told me sternly.

"You sound like the Doctor." I grumbled.

She frowned. "We just want to keep you safe."

I scowled. I was tired of all of the lies, the deception. The only difference between the Doctor and Clara was that Clara probably didn't even realise what she was doing. That's why I ended up feeling bad for yelling at her just then. "Are you sure? Think about it. Probably the only reason the Doctor even let me go with you in the first place is because he knew you'd keep a close eye on me. You two aren't trying to keep me safe, you're keeping me under lock and key; making sure nobody gets their hands on me and learns about what I know. Hell, I wouldn't be surprised if the Doctor put a tracking device on me!"

She looked at me like I was being ludicrous. "Emma, that's ridiculous! Are you even listening to yourself? There is no way the Doctor or I would treat you like a simple object that could be bought and sold."

"Well, _somebody_ obviously hasn't been paying close enough attention."

I saw her trying to cover up the hurt in her eyes, making me inwardly punch myself. Why was I being so rude to her? What has she done to deserve it?

Neither of us talked for a bit, but it was Clara who broke the silence. "Either way, I'm glad you told me about this. I said that if you ever needed anything, you could come to me, and I meant it." She must have seen that I was still upset because she spread her arms out and said, "come here."

Hesitantly, I stepped forward and allowed her to envelop me in a gentle hug. Hugging her back, I closed my eyes. Lately, I didn't really like hugging people, or showing affection to people in general, but my mom's hugs were so warm and comforting that I couldn't even try to feel repulsed by them. I could almost see us, sitting on a hill, laughing and simply enjoying each other's company without a care in the world…

And then the hugging came to an end, the image disappearing as well.

Clara looked into my eyes, certain yet sincere. "I'm sorry that you feel like I'm not paying enough attention, but I swear, the Doctor and I are going to have a terribly controversial sit down about all of this the next time I see him, okay?"

I almost started to cry; I couldn't have asked for a better mother. Except for the fact that she barely even was my mom.

 _Shut up._

 _ **She's not your mom.**_

 _Who asked for your opinion?_

 _ **She doesn't even know who you are.**_

 _I will shoot you._

 _ **With what, your tears?**_

 _With my fist._

 _ **Careful, you'll get in trouble with your dead "mom" if you do that.**_

I slammed that door in my mind shut, refusing to let any more thoughts through. I nodded in answer to Clara's statement, not trusting my mouth at the moment.

That night, Clara and I slept closer together than usual.

Day twenty and I was staring out the window, looking down at the parking lot below. Clara was supposed to return any minute, and then the fun would begin. I did end up enjoying our time together even though there wasn't any running away from monsters involved. We'd go on walks to parks, go and eat out sometimes, or maybe we'd simply snuggle up on the couch and watch TV. Sometimes, though, we played a game called "Clara asks questions about Emma's past and Emma does her best to break her habit of lying while answering them." Luckily, Clara seemed to know where the boundaries were, because she only asked little questions like "where did you used to live" and, a typical English teacher one, "what's your favorite book?" All in all, there was less awkwardness and I was actually looking forward to spending time with my mom. Always making the most of the time we had left.

Today was different, though. There would be no twenty questions or TV night this day, because Clara was wearing her black, leather-sleeved coat, and we all know what that meant. The Zygons were about to make their dazzling comeback.

When I saw her pull in on her motorcycle, I grinned. After getting off, she looked up to the window and waved. I didn't wave back, only smiling wider before proceeding to dart over to the apartment's main door, slipping through it, and sprinting down the stairs.

I reached the floor with apartment number fifty-two just as Clara was putting her phone away.

"Hey, Emma! I just finished talking to the Doctor, he said that some of the Zygons were acting up." She paused. "You do know about the whole Zygon operation, right? This is old news for you."

I nodded. "Trust me, you needn't say any more. Let's head out to the lot and wait for UNIT to pick us up."

As we walked down the stairs, Clara's ponytail swished back and forth in front of me, reminding me that this wasn't actually Clara I was talking to, but Bonnie; a Zygon taking her form.

There, of course, were questions from Kate. After all, she'd never seen me before. Questions about who I was and why I was with the Doctor. To which the said man gave very vague answers, yet clear enough for Kate to not completely be left in the dark.

When we entered the school, Kate began talking about how the building related to the Zygons, but I wasn't listening. I was too busy being far too interested in the school. Funnily enough, I had never been in a school before. I was - what did you call it? Oh yeah, "homeschooled" in a way.

During all of these conversations down in the Zygon command center, I kept my eyes on "Clara." I was trying to see if Bonnie let any signs show that give others any reason to suspect her, but she did a damn good job of being Clara. The only thing she said that wasn't like Clara was her excuse for knowing about the town called Truth Or Consequences. Clara didn't like trivial pursuit one bit. It made me wonder how Bonnie knew Clara so well. Perhaps Zygons took on some of the personality of the person they were copying, or maybe Bonnie could replicate how she'd act based on Clara's memories. The only other reason I could come up with kind of disturbed me. The Zygons were watching us in our everyday lives. In the apartment complex, in the streets, perhaps they were even watching Clara when she went to teach at school. It left me feeling uneasy about this whole Zygon situation. It was one thing to face an enemy that could disguise themselves. It was another to face an enemy that could even be one of your closest friends.

"Okay, Kate Stewart, no bombs for you. Go to Truth Or Consequences, see what you can find Doctor will go to Turmezistan. Negotiate peace, rescue Osgood, and prevent this war because that's what he does. Clara, Jac, you stay here. This is your country. Protect it from the scary monsters and also from the Zygons."

I raised my eyebrows. "And me?"

The Doctor looked surprised for a moment. "Oh, yes, you exist too. Uh, you come with me. I might need an extra pair of hands with retrieving Osgood. Oh," he turned to Kate, "do you still have the presidential aircraft?"

"I thought you didn't like being president of the world." Bonnie said.

"No, but I like poncing about in a big plane."

I didn't even get to the steps onto the plane before I was pulled aside by Bonnie. She menacingly whispered in my ear. "I know that you're aware of what's been going on, so let me give you a warning before you make a big mistake. You tell anyone, you get in my way at all, and I'll make your life a living hell. Understand?"

I just smirked, looking her in the eye and saying, "I'm afraid there's not much more damage you can do there."

"Then I suppose I'll just have to put you out of your misery."

"Go ahead and try. I've been evading death for eight years."

"Everything catches up to you in the end. Now, go on. You're going to miss your flight."

And with that, she walked away towards Kate.

I followed the Doctor, who had just made two peace signs with his hands in the air, into the plane, and we sat down.

"How has living with Clara been?" He asked after we had taken off.

I looked at him questioningly. "Are you trying to make small talk with me?"

"Why is that so hard to believe?"

"Because you're the Doctor. You don't do 'small talk.'"

"Are you going to answer or are we going to argue over whether or not I can ask a simple question?"

"It was...strange, I guess. Not in a bad way, or anything. Just...different."

He looked at me strangely. "Is she really that odd when she's home?"

I chuckled. "No, no. That's not what I meant. It's just that I've never lived a normal life before, you know?"

"How did you live before?"

"In a house that I didn't have to pay for because it was a split second out of sync with the rest of the universe with seven other kids my age."

His lips formed a thin line and his eyebrows furrowed together. "I'm sorry?"

"You heard me."

"That's ridiculous. There's no way-"

"If you're going to deny the truth, Doctor, then don't waste my time." I threw his previous words back at him.

He sunk into his chair and we sat in silence the rest of the way.

On our way to the church where Osgood was being kept, I tried to think of a way to save those soldiers. Talking to them? Walsh would already try that. Preventing them from going inside? That would probably get me killed. Sneaking into the church and doing something clever? As far as I knew, there wasn't an unlocked way into the church other than the front doors. In conclusion, I was drawing a blank.

I ended up silently waiting behind the church for the whole situation to pass by, until finally, the Doctor and Colonel Walsh went inside. Following them in, I could see the piles of burnt human resting on the floor.

"They've executed my men." Colonel Walsh said, positively pissed.

"Where are the Zygons?" The Doctor asked.

"We need to bomb the hell out of this place, it's infested with these things. We can't tell who the enemy is anymore. We can't count them and we can't track them."

I was hit with a flashback at her words, _the friend inside the enemy, the enemy inside the friend._

"I'm not going to let you do that."

"I just lost my men. I'll quite happily bomb the hell out of anywhere. We need to move, strike's on its way."

"I need to find Osgood."

"You've got ten minutes." That was the last thing she said to us before leaving the church.

The Doctor looked up at me. "Any ideas?"

Finally, something I could actually help with. "Yeah. Over here."

I led him to the cupboard and, pulling back the red rug, revealed the trap door to him. I opened the door and went down the ladder first. Reaching the bottom, the Doctor pulled out a flashlight from his coat and tossed it to me. Catching it, I turned it on.

Just then, we heard the voice belonging to a certain scientist. "Hello? Doctor, is that you?"

"Osgood!" He exclaimed.

Running down the passageway, we found Osgood, manacled and sitting in a chair.

"Got to get you out. They're going to bomb this place. What do the Zygons want?" The Doctor asked as he pulled out his sonic sunglasses.

"They're training, practising new skills. Doctor, what are you doing here? And who is she?"

"We're rescuing you." The Doctor answered as Osgood was relieved of her restraints.

I then decided to cut in, speaking in rapid fire. "I'm Emma. Lovely to meet you Osgood. Nice outfit, the answer to your question is Clara, and also, there's a Zygon approaching that should show up in three...two...on-"

Sure enough, a Zygon interrupted me with a hiss and was raising its arm. But before it could kill us, a bomb blew overhead and made debris fall from the ceiling onto the Zygon.

"They've started. So much for ten minutes." The Doctor said.

With our mission accomplished, we manoeuvred our way around the Zygon and made our way back to the plane, doing our best to not get blown to pieces in the process.

I could practically feel Osgood's eyes on me as we sat in the plane after the Doctor and Osgood's conversation.

I bit my lip before I decided to say something. "Okay, I know I look fabulous but I'm pretty sure that's not why you're watching me like a hawk." I turned my head in her direction as I spoke.

"Sorry," she said, "it's just that you look familiar. I'm sure I've seen you somewhere before."

I knit my eyebrows and pressed my lips together. "That can't be right. I've never even gone near UNIT before, and I haven't been to the United States in two-thousand-fourteen or fifteen."

"It doesn't make much sense to me, either."

One of the soldiers then said that the Zygon was ready, and Osgood and I got up to witness the negotiation.

The Zygon growled at us before we could even speak.

"Bit of first-things-first-ness." The Doctor began. "What's your name?" When the Zygon didn't answer, he continued. "My name's- well, you can call me the Doctor. But then you knew that, didn't you? You want something. What is it?"

This time, the Zygon answered. "You are the President of the World."

"Yes, I suppose so."

"We want the world." Laughter came flooding out from its mouth as Osgood stared at it oddly. I tried deciphering what her look meant, but I found myself unable to tell.

"We want the truth of who we are to be acknowledged. We want to live as ourselves at any cost. We want a home."

"Well, you can't have the United Kingdom. There's already people living there. They'll think you're going to pinch their benefits."

"We're already there, Doctor. The invasion's already taken place bit by bit over the last year. We've won the first battle and now we are going to begin the war."

At that moment, the Doctor's phone began to ring.

"Answer it." The Zygon said. "Say goodbye. This plane will never land."

"Really?" The Doctor said to the Zygon before speaking into his phone. "Clara? Clara? Clara, I'm glad you're okay. Listen, the invasion has happened. You're probably surrounded by Zygons. Get to the TARDIS, get yourself safe. And apparently my plane is never going to land, but let's see what we're going to do about that." There was a pause in which the Doctor's eyes widened before exclaiming, "Clara!"

A moment later, the whole plane shook and the Doctor said, "missed," after which I yelled out "parachutes" to him.

He ran over to where they were and passed two of them to Osgood and I. One of the soldiers opened an emergency exit and the Doctor and Osgood jumped out. I looked into the soldier's eyes and told him, "I'm sorry. I'd save you all if I could." His understanding nod was the last thing I saw before I plummeted to the Earth below, leaving the explosion behind me.

I simply stayed quiet, having nothing to add in, after I regained consciousness. I walked alongside Osgood and the Doctor, noticing tidbits here and there. Like when the Doctor glanced at me when he said "I'm still in the hope phase."

After hopping in the vehicle and reaching the spot in London where the video was taken, we got out of the van.

"London!" The Doctor exclaimed. "What a dump."

"London's okay." Osgood protested.

"No, it's not, it's a dump."

"You spend an awful lot of time here, considering it's a dump."

"I spend an awful lot of time being kidnapped, tortured, shot at and exterminated. Doesn't mean I like it."

"It's the life you chose." I shot at the Doctor.

"You chose this life too," he shot back to me, "yet you feel the need to act grumpy all day."

"Oh, Doctor." I shook my head. "I could go on an all-day rant about how wrong you are."

"Yes, well, unfortunately, we don't have time for that. Let's move, you two." Osgood demanded.

Almost all of the lights were off in the shopping centre. Only the yellow lights were activated, giving off an eerie glow. The place didn't smell nice, as Osgood pointed out, and it was littered with deep-fried human beings. I couldn't help but think that it was an optimal place for a horror film.

The Doctor and Osgood crept cautiously ahead, me following closely behind.

Out of nowhere, the Doctor asked Osgood, "what's your name?"

"Osgood." She answered, not quite getting at what he was asking.

"No, no, no. Your first name."

"What's your first name?"

"Basil."

I snorted.

"What's so funny?" The Doctor asked.

"Nothing, Doctor Basil John Disco Funkenstein Puntastic."

Osgood snickered, then answered Basil's question. "Petronella."

The Doctor glanced at her oddly before speaking. "Let's just, uh, stick with what we had."

"Speaking of which," Osgood continued, "what's your last name, Emma?"

I hesitated before speaking. "One you already know."

The Doctor then tried speaking to Osgood once more. "I need to ask you-"

He didn't get to finish his sentence, which bothered me. I suppose it could have been worse. It could have been a really important discussion between them that would have had a major impact on how the episode turned out. Yet I couldn't shake that unsteady feeling. Once again, because of me, something really notable happened differently than in the episodes, all because of my presence. Just how much would I change the timelines? Just how much would me being here put others at risk of having their lives altered? It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the weight of the universe was on my shoulders. After all, my existence nearly caused nearly caused the unraveling of the chain of events that would keep the universe intact the last time that happened.

What the Doctor was interrupted by was the sound of a door opening, as well as the unmistakable noise of a Zygon.

We ran towards the noise, shining our flashlights on the Zygon, who ran. The next time we found him, he was in his human form. Partially. There were still suckers here and there, and a vein or two were popping out.

"Whoever you are, we can help you." The Doctor tried.

The Zygon carefully came around the corner of the aisle. "It wasn't me." He clearly was afraid that we were going to be angry with him for transforming back. "They attacked me. They saw me. I had to-"

His transformation tries to take over again, but he fights back despite how much it obviously hurts, to which the Doctor tries to soothe him.

"A commander came." He continued telling us what happened. "She turned me back!"

Osgood tried to reassure the Zygon. "We can help. We can help you. Doctor, we can help him, can't we?"

"I'm not sure." Came the Doctor's reply.

The Zygon held up his hand and electricity burst out of it towards the Doctor, making him stagger backwards for a few seconds. The Zygon sprinted away as the Doctor recuperated.

"Please!" The Doctor yelled out. "Come back! Come back!"

We set off to find the alien again. When we did find him, the Doctor attempted talking to him again, only for another bolt of electricity to shoot out from the Zygon's hand and graze the Doctor.

"Why? I was happy like this. I was happy here." The Zygon said, and I felt a pang of sympathy for him.

"I understand." The Doctor said.

"I can't change. I can't hide."

"Let us help you." Osgood offered.

"No! You're Truth Or Consequences."

"We're not. We're really not."

"I'm not part of your fight. I never wanted to fight anyone. I just wanted to live here. Why can't I just live?"

"We're on your side." The Doctor insisted.

"I'm not on anyone's side! This is my home."

"Listen. We are not them."

"I can't go back now! You've taken my life!" He raised his arm up to face his head.

"Wait!" My voice surprised me just as much as it did the others.

The Zygon flicked his eyes over to me. "They will kill me."

"Forget about that," I said. "What's your name?"

There were a few seconds of silence where I could feel all eyes on me before he answered my question, shakily. "Etoine."

"Listen, Etoine. Truth Or Consequences, they aren't deceiving. They're pretty straightforward, right?"

He nodded.

"So why would they trick you by acting friendly? Think about it. We can't be Truth Or Consequences, I mean, we're not even Zygons. We're not going to unmask every Zygon on this planet, but I'll tell you what we will do. We're going to fix this mess, and then we're going to fix you."

"How?"

"Trust me, we won't stop until we've found a way."

Seeing that he was still unconvinced, I kept on talking.

"I know it may seem like it's the end, but these events are just clouds blocking the sun. The storm will come to then, we'll keep you safe. Take it from me, what you're thinking of doing: It's not worth it."

After waiting for the seconds that seemed to drag on forever, he slowly lowered his hand from his head.

"I don't want to get involved in this conflict." Etoine said.

"I know, and I swear, you will only have to stay on the sidelines until we figure this out, okay? We just need to make sure Truth Or Consequences doesn't get to you."

He hesitated, but then nodded.

Smiling at him, we left the store. We were then greeted by Kate and what appeared to be two UNIT soldiers.

"Doctor!" She called out to him.

"Kate! Are you alright?" He asked suspiciously.

"Of course, I am. Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just I heard otherwise."

"I'm fine. Doctor, we know where the Zygon command centre is. We know where Clara's pod is. We can take you there."

"Well, how very convenient because that's just exactly what we're looking for."

Beside Kate, the two "soldiers" were glaring at Etoine. Defensively, I stepped in front of him, glaring right back at the two Zygons.

Arriving at the command centre, the Doctor announced, "well, they like a good cave, don't they? How many of these pods are occupied?"

"We don't know." Was Kate's answer.

"Which one is Clara's?"

Kate shone her light on an empty pod slot. "Well, that's strange, it was here before."

Behind Osgood, Etoine, and I, we could hear the sound of growling Zygons. It was Osgood who decided to speak up about it. "Doctor, I think they're Zygons."

Quickly, Osgood backed away from the Zygons in disguise. I grabbed Etoine's arm, pulling him away with me.

As we watched the soldiers transform into Zygons, the Doctor said, "oh, you cheeky little monkeys."

Behind us, we could hear Kate speaking into her Zygon communicator. "The Doctor is here."

Clara's voice came out from the other end. "Don't kill him. We need him alive."

"What for?"

"Because I just found out why it's called an Osgood Box. There's two of them."

The Doctor butted in. "Two Osgoods, two boxes, operation double. What did you expect?"

"What's in them, Doctor? Tell me. Now!"

"One box normalises all the Zygons."

"And the other?"

"Destroys them."

"Which is which?"

"Ah, that would be telling."

There were a few moments where nobody spoke in which I knew that Bonnie was retrieving Clara from her pod.

"Which box normalises the Zygons, Doctor? Tell me, or she dies."

He didn't have to ask who she was talking about. "No! This is war. You pull the trigger, you pay the price."

"Kill her!" Bonnie said without hesitation.

"The blue one, the blue one! The blue one normalises all your people!"

"Are you lying? Are you lying to me, Doctor?"

"No, I'm not. And when you open up the box, you'll see I'm not lying."

There was a pause in which Bonnie opened the blue box. "Doctor?" Another pause and she opened the red box, too. "Doctor!"

"Yeah, I know."

"Bring him to me!"

The Zygons advanced, and just as they were raising their arms, two gunshots rang out and both of the Zygons fell to the ground. Behind them stood Kate, who said, "Sorry Doctor, self-defence."

"You're you."

"I'm me."

"How did you survive?"

"Five rounds, rapid. I'm sorry, Doctor. I know you don't approve."

"Why does peacekeeping always involve killing?"

Kate dropped the Zygon communicator to the ground, destroying it with her heels.

"Is this the lot?" The Doctor asked.

"No, there are plenty more of them. They were the nearest." Kate looked up at Osgood. "You are you?"

"I'm me." Osgood assured.

"But human or Zygon?"

"Me."

Kate noticed Etoine. "What about him?"

"He was caught in the middle of Bonnie's fight." I defended. "Don't worry, he's not a baddie."

Kate nodded. "What are we dealing with?"

The Doctor explained to Kate what exactly was going on before we headed out. Upon reaching the Black Archive the Doctor immediately noticed the two Claras, pointing to both of them as he greeted each of them.

"Stop this. Stop this, please. Let me take both of these boxes away. We'll forgive, we'll forget, and the ceasefire will stand."

"No." Bonnie blatantly refused, and the Doctor's face fell.

Kate then moved over to the red box, opposite of Bonnie. "Doctor, which of these buttons do I press? Doctor, which one? Truth or Consequences?"

"Truth or Consequences?"

And so began the Doctor's negotiation with Bonnie and Kate. It was mesmerizing to watch, really. Seeing it on television was incredibly different from the real thing. The conviction in their voices, the facial expressions. The way you could see the entire room and everything going on in it, every movement. Whether it was the way Bonnie's hand clenched over the buttons or how Kate stared, still ashamed at her own actions, at Bonnie while waiting for her to make her decision after the Doctor's heartfelt speech. I actually flinched when he began that speech. I had actually had tears well up in my eyes the first time I watched it on television, and I was trying not to let the same thing happen then.

"It's hell, isn't it?" The Doctor's voice broke through my thoughts. "No one should have to think like that, and no one will. Not on our watch."

Then Bonnie did something I wasn't expecting. She looked at and addressed me. "You." She stated. "Emma. You didn't tell, just like I asked. You didn't give a warning, you didn't tell the Doctor about what had actually happened to Clara when he presumed her dead. How can there be peace, when we can't even trust our own?

I stood there, frightened as fuck. _Red alert. Red alert. This is not how it went in my head._ I was speechless, my mouth agape, glancing back and forth between the Doctor, who was staring at me questioningly, and Bonnie, who was staring at me accusingly. I wasn't sure which one was worse.

In the end, I was saved from my horror, but it came from the most unlikely of places.

"Bonnie." It was Etoine who spoke. "We all make mistakes, we are all flawed. But what matters is that we're alive. As long as we're alive, we can make room for something greater, something better. If we're dead, we can't improve from our mistakes, and others will simply repeat our foolish actions. Starting a war isn't going to help anyone."

All eyes were on Bonnie at this point, as she contemplated what Etoine said. Her facial expression changed, to which the Doctor said, "gotcha."

I was ultimately relieved. Things seemed to be getting back on track.

"How can you be so sure?" Bonnie asked, seeming unsure of herself.

"Because you have a disadvantage, Zygella. I know that face."

Then Kate decided to ruin the moment. "This is all very well, but we know the boxes are empty now. We can't forget that."

"No, well, er, you've said that the last fifteen times." The Doctor said as he took out his sonic sunglasses and pointed them upwards at the device on the ceiling, activating it and erasing her memory. Osgood set Kate down beside one of the shelves when she passed out.

Bonnie closed the lid of the blue box. "You didn't wipe my memory."

"No." The Doctor confirmed. "Just Kates. Oh, and your little friends here, of course. When they wake up, they won't remember what you've done. It'll be our secret."

"You're going to protect me?"

"Well, you're one of us now, whether you like it or not." Osgood said.

"I don't understand how you could just forgive me."

"Because I've been where you have." The Doctor told her. "There was another box. I was going to press another button. I was going to wipe out all of my own kind. Man, woman and child, I was so sure I was right."

"What happened?"

"Same thing that happened to you. I let Clara Oswald get inside my head. Trust me, she doesn't leave."

Soon after, we left the Black Archive and headed to the TARDIS, leaving Kate and the Zygons behind. We no longer had to worry about Etoine, Bonnie had said that she'd be able to find a way to cure his condition. It was one more victory, one more life saved. However, before leaving, something caught my eye on one of the boards of pictures.

The picture was small - pocket sized. I unpinned it so I could hold it in my hands. In the background was a white house surrounded by lush, green grass and sitting under a bright blue sky. In the center of the picture, though, stood eight goofily grinning preteens. All of which stood close together, like a pack, striking casual poses. And there, the fifth person in line, was me. I was leaning, my elbow resting on the shoulder of the freckled boy with bright ginger hair. I remembered that day. That was the day a member of UNIT was thrown into our universe and we helped him to get back to his own. He had taken that picture of us before he left. A few droplets appeared on the picture, and I noticed streaks of something wet running down my face.

In the distance, I could hear Clara calling my name, and I quickly wiped away the tears and shoved the picture into my jacket pocket.

"Hey, there you are. Is everything alright?" Clara asked, concerned.

"Yeah, sorry." I walked past her towards the exit, not allowing her any time to ask any more questions.

"The TARDIS." Osgood said in awe.

"The TARDIS." The Doctor repeated, showing off.

"What's it stand for?"

"What? Are you kidding me? Surely you know that."

"Well, I've heard a couple of different versions."

"I made it up from the initials. It stands for Totally And Radically Driving In Space."

Osgood obviously didn't believe him. I for one, couldn't believe that he took the credit for Susan's idea.

"Do you want to come? All of the future, all of history, all of the universe?"

"More than anything. But I think I have to stay. I've got a couple of boxes to keep an eye on, and a world to keep safe."

"Fair enough. Clara, Emma, would you mind, uh-"

"Mind what?"

"I'll see you in the TARDIS, okay?"

"Of course" I said.

"Yeah, sure." Clara agreed.

We each said our goodbyes to Osgood, then went into the TARDIS.

Clara went to fiddle with some buttons on the TARDIS, while I leant on the railing close to the entryway to the corridor.

Soon, the Doctor entered, and immediately congratulated me. When I looked at him, confused, he elaborated.

"By saving Etoine, you saved the planet."

I looked down at the grated floor, frowning. Yes, saving Etoine was a victory, but surely I didn't save the world because I saved him. After all, the Doctor would have been able to stop Bonnie if I wasn't there. By being there, I simply reminded Bonnie of all the bad in the world. I made a mess, that was all. I was just glad that Etoine was there to clean up my mess. Without a word, I walked away, disappearing down the corridor.

I could still hear whatever the Doctor and Clara said, though, and I stopped walking when I heard Clara say, "Doctor, we need to talk."

I knew it wasn't polite to eavesdrop, but have I mentioned my insatiable curiosity?

"Oh dear," the Doctor sounded less than pleased, "is this about that time with the Sherotnins because I told you-"

"What? No. Doctor, listen, this is about Emma."

I inched closer.

"Well, what about her?"

"Basically, she isn't very happy with how you've been treating her. She feels less like a person and more like an object that needs to be kept under security. It's like you're purposefully not letting her have enough freedom so that you can keep a close eye on her."

"Well, that's exactly what I'm doing."

"Doctor!"

"What? Oh, do you expect me to lie?"

"I expect you to let her be as much of an adventurer as you are! She's just a kid, Doctor. She needs the freedom to explore on her own!"

"It's too great of a risk, Clara!"

"Well, so is simply being with you, but you're not keeping me under lock and key."

The Doctor's huff could even be heard from where I was standing. "Fine, fine! Starting tomorrow she'll have the freedom of a bird."

"Thank you, Doctor."

"Don't thank me just yet."

I could hear footsteps coming closer and I dashed off to my room, knowing that's where Clara would be headed.

I didn't have to wait long before there was a knock on my door. Opening said object, I gave a quick smile to the woman standing there.

"Hey," she greeted. "I just had a conversation with the Doctor-"

I interrupted her, holding up my hand. "Say no more. I may have, uh, eavesdropped on you guys."

She smiled at that, her eyes filled with humour.

"Thanks, Clara."

"No problem at all, Em."

When she left, I laid down on my bed and pulled out that photo. _Em._ _Didn't they use to call me that?_

Staring at my lightly freckled face, at the person that I used to be, I became filled with nostalgia. That night, I cried myself to sleep.

 **So, my summer job is officially over, meaning I can spend the rest of summer working on fanfiction! I'll probably be able to get about two chapters up before the school year starts, depending on how long they are and how busy I'll be. Thanks for reading, and please review!**


	11. News flash! You're an asshole

**I am sooo sorry! I have no excuse for you guys having to wait this long other than school getting in the way. My sincerest apologies, I really hope the next chapter will be up sooner.**

I entered the TARDIS console room the next morning to find the Doctor and Clara waiting for me.

"Emma!" The Doctor exclaimed. "About time, I thought you were going to sleep all day."

"Doctor, it's been five minutes," Clara told him.

"More like five minutes too long."

I rolled my eyes. "So! Where to this time?"

"Actually," the Doctor said slowly, "that's what I was going to ask you."

I blinked. "Me?"

"Yes, you. Keep up. I decided it's about time you chose a destination."

"So," Clara spoke up, "got any ideas?"

I grinned. "I might have an idea or two."

It turns out the fourth most beautiful place in the galaxy was also the second most beautiful garden in the universe. Once again, I did not recognize the setting nor the adventure. Not until too late.

We all burst through the TARDIS doors, Clara laughing, and all of us covered in grime.

"We told you it'd work." She said.

"It very nearly ate you two for dinner!" The Doctor pointed out.

"Oh wait a minute, we totally saved your life."

"It wasn't going to eat me!"

My smile turned upside down. _No. It can't be. Not yet, please, not yet._

"But we totally saved you from having to marry that giant sentient plant thing! That bit when I jumped over the side? That was amazing!"

We all continued to brush the dirt off of our clothes as the Doctor snorted and grinned.

"Hah! Knew you were impressed."

"The second most beautiful garden in all of time and space and we can never come back here because you two - Miss Oswald and-"

The Doctor was interrupted by the ringing phone.

After a few seconds of staring at it, the Doctor motioned for Clara to pick up the phone, which she did.

"Hello?" She cautiously said into it.

"Clara, finally!" The voice on the other end could be heard throughout the room. "It's Rigsy."

"Oh, Rigsy. Hey, what's wrong?"

"So, I have this, uh...it kind of looks like a tattoo."

"Seriously, I gave you this number for emergencies."

As Clara and Rigsy had their phone conversation, I simply stood on the opposite side of the console, frozen. There was no way, _no way_ , this was happening already. It all went by too soon. I needed more time, but another part of me knew that even more time with Clara would just make her fate even worse than it already was. I couldn't even bear looking at her right then. So when Clara hung up the phone, and the Doctor suggested we all get changed, I was the first one out of that room.

Soon after landing in his apartment, Rigsy came into the TARDIS and we began scanning him and his phone.

"If you want your extremities to stay attached stand absolutely still. If not, we can provide a small bag and you can take them home at the end." The Doctor told Rigsy as a yellow strip of light moved from his head to his toes.

I was standing over Clara's shoulder, almost protectively, as she said, "Rigsy, your phone. It's like they've wiped it, but only the last day. No location data, no texts, nothing. Are you sure the screen wasn't cracked before yesterday?"

"Uh-huh." Was his answer.

The TARDIS made a sound to confirm the scan having been finished.

"Oh, right. Okay, here we go." The Doctor checked the screen showing the results. "Good" He decided. "Weird. Good and weird."

"Can I move?" Rigsy asked.

"Huh?" The Doctor looked his way. "Oh, yes, yes, yes, yes... of course."

Rigsy let out a breath as the Doctor snapped his fingers and moved towards him.

"First off. In the last twenty-four hours you have had significant contact with alien lifeforms, right here in the center of London."

"Okay, so, why don't I remember anything?"

I decided to interject at this point. "Your prefrontal cortex has been doused in retcon. It's an amnesia drug mainly used by Torchwood."

"Exactly." The Doctor said as he stepped back to look at the results again. "Ooh, there's something else. Something...not good. Weird."

He moved around the console to pick up the set of cards that Clara had made for him and began to flip through them.

"What's he doing?" Rigsy asked.

Clara looked towards him. "He's making an effort to be nice."

"There's no nice way to say 'you're about to die.'" The Doctor gathered quietly.

Not quiet enough, however, since it still caused an outburst from Rigsy.

"W-what?"

"Rigsy-" The Doctor began but Rigsy cut him off.

"No, no, no, no, no. Don't start using my actual name now! Call me pudding brain, call me local knowledge, whatever, just don't call me Rigsy."

I looked down at the grated floor, counting the individual little holes. I was familiar with Rigsy's dilemma, and all-too-familiar with the other side of it, too. But what got to me the most was the fact that Clara would soon be facing the same problem. That is, if I didn't do anything about it. The thought of standing back and letting the timelines take their course like everyone expected me to sickened me. Just sit back and do nothing? Let the people I care about suffer? Over my dead body.

"You're gonna save me. You're a doctor, that's what you do."

"Okay." The Doctor said, barely audibly, before speaking louder. "Okay. Yes, okay, let's do this thing. First up, stop the countdown. Five-hundred-and-twenty-six minutes, right. Okay. Yes, you know what, local knowledge. I don't know who did this to you, or why, but I do almost certainly know how to find them."

Okay, let's save a lot of time here. We headed to the Great British Library, we searched for trap streets, (and as always, the Doctor was reluctant to let me off of his leash) we found the trap street, and now we've got our feet stuck to some stupid brick walkway.

And no, I wasn't ridiculing everything I saw out of spite of what was about to happen. Absolutely not. Actually, I was spending my time wisely, thank you very much. I needed a plan. I wasn't going to get one by lounging around; I needed to put my brain to work.

What was my plan, you ask? It will all become clear later. Don't worry, I'm sure you'll hate it.

Now, where were we? Oh yes, Wolverine guy was sniffing the Doctor and exclaiming how he doesn't smell human.

"Name, species, and case for asylum. Quick as you like." Said the other approaching alien.

"Asylum?" The Doctor questioned.

"The reason you're here. The reason you need sanctuary."

After a bout of whispering on each side, Rump spoke once more. "You do know this is a refugee camp."

The Doctor, lying, said that of course he does, Clara nodding with him.

"Of course he does." Came a voice unmistakably known as Me. Or Maisie Williams, depending on which universe you're in. "Now that you've told him."

"Mayor Me." Rump acknowledged.

Clara was astonished, calling her "Ashildr," the Doctor looked like he should have expected it, and Rigsy just looked confused as to why they were acting that way.

"Ashildr?" Mayor Me wondered.

"That's your name." The Doctor told her. "I keep telling you that."

"Do you? Infinite lifespan, finite memory, it makes for an awkward social life." She walked toward Clara and I. "You must be Emma and Clara Oswald."

That part really frightened me. I couldn't tell if she meant it like "Clara Oswald and Emma" or "Clara Oswald and Emma Oswald." Even thinking of my full name felt ridiculous and foreign. Nobody used my full name except for the Time Lords, but they have always been so formal and proper, so that's only to be expected.

Oddities aside, I was really worried she had figured it out. More than that, I was really worried she would tell someone if it meant getting an advantage over me. The last thing I needed was for her to have the edge right then. She might be a friend overall, but at that moment she was working against us.

"You both are as beautiful as your photos."

That only made things worse. I may not look exactly like a younger version of my mother, but there were definitely some similarities that Me could use to piece the puzzle together.

Clara looked at me as though wondering if I was as confused as she was, which of course I wasn't. I simply stood there with my arms crossed, an awfully bored expression on my face. That was the trouble of knowing the future: nothing excites you anymore.

"We met," Clara stated.

"Yes, I know, it's in my diaries. Oh, don't look like that, I enjoyed our conversations. I've read them many times."

"Okay, that's slightly odd but nice. Hang on, so this is where you've been. That's why he lost track of you." Noticing the look the Doctor was giving her, Clara continued. "Oh, come on, please. It's really cute; he thinks I don't know. He's got this whole secret room in the TARDIS where he collects mentions of you."

"It's not cute. It's surveillance."

"It's professional interest." The Doctor argued.

"Precautionary measure."

"Still saving the world from me, then?"

"It's still here, isn't it?"

"He lost track of you," Clara cut into the midst of their babbling, "in the early 1800s. I wondered if you were…"

"Oh, no. I let him know I was okay."

"I saw you." The Doctor grinned at Me.

"No," she insisted, "I got your attention."

"Yes, you did and you have. Now we need your help. Someone in this place is in control of a quantum shade."

The Doctor gestured for Rigsy to take his hood and cap off, which he did.

Rump snarled, Me revealed her tattoos and the rather large pendant she was wearing, and everything turned into a shit fest.

The following lines all went according to the show until the Doctor ordered for Me to permit us entry herself.

"No! You've already endangered one of my friends. I want your personal guarantee that you won't endanger another."

"Shut up, I can handle myself." Clara objected.

However, Me still obliged. "I guarantee the safety of Clara Oswald. She will be under my person protection. That is absolute. Emma, on the other hand, will have to look after herself."

I felt personally offended by that. "What, am I not good enough for your 'personal protection?'"

"Not at all." Me objected. "It's just that there'll be no point in protecting you, seeing as you're already headed to your death."

I blinked, my mouth hanging open slightly. Okay, I wasn't expecting that to come out of her mouth. The Doctor, Clara, and Rigsy all looked towards me with questioning expressions etched on their faces. I just shrugged, not knowing how to respond.

After our feet had been released from the bricks, we followed Me down trap street.

Absentmindedly walking through the street, not listening to a word the others were saying, I accidentally bumped into someone. Seeing through the Lurkworms, I noticed I had run into a Silurian. She glared down at me as though I were the one who had "murdered" Anah.

The only other time I had taken notice of my surroundings was when we passed by the quantum shade. I stared at the raven, filling my sight with as much hate as I could muster and wrinkled my nose in disgust. I had had enough of that horrid thing already. Hearing it squawk was like death itself.

Then came the old man's death. I had seen Clara's face on television when the woman had asked for the man pass on his death to her, so I could pinpoint the exact moment in which she decided her course of action. I had leaned over, whispering "don't" in her ear, only she didn't respond. I just hoped she had got the message.

I slipped past Clara as she was talking to Rump and grabbed Rigsy, pulling him aside to a secluded area. It was time to put my plan into action.

"Listen," I said to him carefully, "we don't have much time before the Doctor or Clara finds us, so I need you to work with me here."

"What are you doing?" He asked me.

I took a deep breath and then decided to just put it as bluntly as possible. "I need you to give me the chronolock."

"Sorry, what?" He nearly shouted, bewildered that I would even say such a thing.

I shushed him. "No questions, just agree. Please?"

"I-"

"Emma, you sneaky little pumpkin." The unmistakable voice of my mother came up, rather loudly, behind me.

I groaned, turning around with a look of dread, and saw none other than Clara Oswald marching up to me.

"I look around for Rigsy and as you'd expect, I can't find him anywhere. So I search and I search for him and you know who I bumped into along the way? The Doctor. Guess how surprised I was when you weren't with him, then double that when he says that he thought you were with me-"

Okay, yes, so I may have told the Doctor that I was going to be investigating with Clara and told Clara that I was going to be investigating with the Doctor. What's the big deal?

"-And now, here I am, finding you doing the exact thing you had told me not to do. Any explanations, young lady?"

Clara didn't even know how much her tone was affecting me. There I was, getting told off by my mother who didn't even know she was my mother, finally understanding why so many people I had met were afraid of doing something their mom would disapprove of. It took all my willpower not to stutter.

"Well, when you say it like that, it really puts things into perspective." Was all I could manage.

"Go to the Doctor." She ordered as she walked past me and up to Rigsy. "I don't want to catch you doing anything like this ever again."

"No, wait, Clara-"

I almost told her that if she followed through with this then she wouldn't catch me doing anything at all ever again, but thankfully, I was interrupted.

"Don't even try telling me that it's not what it looks like, Emma. I will not, under any circumstances, allow you to give away your life. We'll find another way."

That's when my anger let itself out. What a fucking hypocrite.

"Seriously? Well then, why don't you go ahead and tell me why, exactly, you were looking for Rigsy?"

"Hey, hey, wait a minute!" Rigsy's voice cut through our argument. "I'm not giving my death sentence to anybody."

"Look, Rigsy," Clara spoke to him quietly, but loud enough so that I could hear. "Unlike Emma here, I have a plan. One that doesn't involve anyone dying."

My entire face screwed up in frustration, having to hold myself back. I wanted to shout, to scream at her to stop. I wanted to tell her that her plan wouldn't work, that it would only end in heartbreak. I almost did, but I bit back my words at the last second. There had to be another way to prevent the following events from happening.

"This is ridiculous," I muttered.

"Shut up and find that grumpy owl," Clara ordered.

Seeing that Clara was adamant about her choice, I did as I was told. Partly.

I did not go and find that "grumpy owl" as Clara had put it. Instead, I left the trap street, deciding that I would have to go with plan B. Yes, I actually thought this through and made a second plan. It's not every day your mother dies. Unless, of course, if you have a time machine.

Speaking of which, I reached the TARDIS in about a half hour, running at full speed the whole way. I nearly collapsed on the floor when I entered, but I forced myself to keep moving.

I punched in the ID number for Missy's vortex manipulator and sent her a call through the communication device.

After a few seconds of tapping the console impatiently, Missy picked up. "Doctor, I'm a bit busy right now-"

"Not the Doctor," I interrupted quickly. "It's Emma."

"Oh, Emma! I see he finally got around to you."

"Yeah, but enough chit-chat. I've got a problem that I think you'll enjoy helping me solve."

She sounded dreadfully bored. "Really? And why would I want to help you in any way?"

"Because my solution might just cause chaos."

A pause. "Do go on."

I didn't bother with trying for discrete. I was in full speed ahead mode and I was going to make that loud and clear for my business partners.

That's why I landed right in the front of the High Council's conference room. I wasted no time in busting the doors open while wearing my best bitchface.

I announced clearly so that the whole room could hear, "alright, either you shit-cakes call it off or I'm pulling out the big guns. Literally."

The High Council stared at me, aghast. Meanwhile, the Lord President of Gallifrey, Rassilon, was not quite so dumbstruck.

"Emma Oswald," I flinched at the use of my full name, "care to explain yourself?"

I stomped right up to him and spat, "oh I'm sorry, princess, do I need to repeat myself for your fragile fucking ears?"

Every second was crucial. I needed to get my point across, and fast. My heart was beating so loudly out of stress that I was sure everyone in the room could hear it. Time was being lost, I needed to act quick if I wanted to save my mother.

"I said call it off!"

"Call what off?" Rassilon asked, getting frustrated as well.

"You damn well know what. Call off the raven."

"The raven is under Mayor Me's control."

"Oh, don't be ridiculous. As if you guys would give complete control of a death machine to a human. Even if they were at least a thousand years old. I know you have some way of controlling it and I demand you do it or-"

"Or what?" Rassilon demanded. "What can you possibly do to us?"

"Or," here goes nothing, "I'll kill myself."

"Go ahead," the President of Gallifrey said flippantly as he turned his back to me, "you've done enough damage to the universe, don't you think?"

Maybe he expected me to feel hurt, but his words had no effect on me. In fact, I was practically expecting him to say something like that.

"Ah, ah, ah. You should probably things through for once, Lord President."

He turned halfway back around and narrowed his eyes. "Tell me why I should care about whether you live or die."

"Well, it's not so much whether I do or don't, it's more of a matter of when."

Now he had turned around fully. "Explain."

"You see. There's one crucial detail missing. One crucial detail that I haven't told you yet. _Not in my timeline._ "

Rassilon's eyes widened in realization and he gritted his teeth.

I continued antagonizing him. "Are you really willing to put all of time and space at risk when a fixed point goes haywire?"

Behind us, I heard the sound of a lift opening and men in heavy armor stepping into the room. I turned around and growled. One of the High Council members must have ordered them to come here. The High Council and Rassilon all stepped out of the way, leaving me open for them to take a shot. Obviously, I couldn't allow them to do that. Even if they only had the stun setting on, it would ruin any chance I had of stopping the raven. But I couldn't just step back inside the TARDIS, either. One, because it would also ruin any chance I had of stopping the raven. Two, because it was at least ten feet away and the soldiers would definitely have shot me by the time I got there. Three, because Rassilon and the High Council was guarding it. Now I was the one gritting my teeth, frantically looking around for a solution to all these problems. But there was no solution to be found.

The soldiers took aim. Rassilon yelled for them to fire. I lowered my head in defeat.

Being shaken awake isn't the most pleasant thing. Your head violently rocking back and forth and your shoulder being gripped so tight.

"Wake up sleepyhead." A familiar, quiet, voice said. "We're breaking you out."

I opened my eyes halfway and could just make out the face of my mother. My mind thought "Clara" but my mouth had other ideas.

"...Mom." I found myself mumbling.

She laughed softly. "Sorry kiddo. You're mum's not here."

If only she knew how wrong she was.

Then I noticed the outfit. It wasn't the light grey and white jumper she was wearing the last time I saw her. No, instead she was wearing her blue and white waitress outfit.

My eyes snapped open. Behind Clara, I could make out the figure of Me in the doorway of their TARDIS. Which could only mean one thing…

"I failed…" It came out as a mere whisper.

Clara grew concerned. "Failed? At what?"

"Saving you." I clarified.

She smiled empathetically. "Hey, it's alright. I've got years of adventures ahead of me, and so do you. So come on. Let's get out of here."

As we both stood up, walking out of what seemed to be a cell and into the TARDIS, I wondered. What did she mean, "so do you"?

As if reading my thoughts, Me spoke up. "We've located your Doctor. Curly hair, brown leather jacket, 'Queens' shirt, right? We can bring you back to him if you like." Then, as if it were an afterthought, she added, "he seems to miss you."

A sinking feeling settled inside. I was a fool, really. I had hoped that maybe I could travel with Clara and Me in their TARDIS, get to spend a little more time with my mom. I should have known that it would never happen. The reason was simple: Clara and Ashildr don't age. I do. It's not fair to impose the same downtrodden feeling the Doctor has when he sees his companions age on them any more than necessary.

Slowly, I nodded. I wanted to have a word with my Doctor anyways.

"Very well." Clara nodded as we entered the control room. She strode right up to the console and pulled down the helmic regulator.

We landed right next to the Doctor's TARDIS. I sent a look Me's way and she nodded. I was ready.

Maybe I should have asked for one last hug. Clara had always been a stickler for them and there was no doubt she would have obliged. But part of me knew that if I ever wrapped my arms around that small frame of hers ever again, then I would never be able to let go.

So, without looking back, I walked out of those doors and turned to my right, faced with the dazzling gleam of the blue police box. Beside me, I could hear the sound of Clara and Me's TARDIS handbrake at work. I had no choice now. I breathed in deeply through my nose and exhaled through my mouth. Pushing open both doors, I entered the TARDIS, only to find it empty.

Figuring that he was out on his latest adventure, I closed the TARDIS doors and sat down in one of the blue chairs in the console room and waited for him to return.

When he finally did, I jumped up to a standing position in a split second, my feet hitting the floor with a _thump_. The Doctor's head, which was bowed a second before, now lifted up sharply to look at who made the sound. His eyes widened when he saw me. I stood there, unmoving, and fidgeting with my fingers.

The Doctor was the one who broke the silence. "Emma, you came back. But...how?"

I swallowed the lump in my throat. "That's a story for another time." I got straight to business. "Doctor, I think we need to chat."

"Well, of course. You've been gone a long time, there's been a few...changes."

I ignored his statement. "No. I mean we need to talk about what's just happened for me."

He knitted his eyebrows together, obviously confused. "Why?"

"Why?" I mimicked incredulously, then repeated. "Why? Maybe because you've been a total asshole, that's why!"

"Emma-"

"Don't you 'Emma' me. You couldn't even warn me that, by the way, I was going to be sent back in time and forced to hang out with your best bud Missy first, then your twelfth self immediately after? I'm aware of the laws of time, Doctor. A little warning wouldn't hurt the universe! Not to mention how your twelfth self treated me. I mean, I know he's a jerk to everyone, but that excludes kids. You were a complete asshole to me, a kid. And don't even get me started on the whole 'time sensitive' bullshit."

And there, on the Doctor's face once more, was that look again. It seemed familiar now, almost like I've seen it way too many times before. And then it hit me. I _had_ seen it way too many times before. I've seen it on the twelfth Doctor's face before. That was the face he always made whenever I mentioned the fact that he was on a TV show. But this regeneration believed me, didn't he?

"Doctor, you don't still think that, right?" I asked cautiously, almost afraid of the answer.

He hesitated. "Please, Emma-"

"Oh my God," I stared at him, shocked, "you do. You _lied_ to me."

I don't know why I was so surprised. Rule 1: the Doctor lies. I was no exception to that rule. But for some reason, I made myself believe every word he said.

"I trusted you," I balled my hands into fists, "I thought you might be able to help me like you did everyone else, but the truth is that you're no different from the others."

"Emma!" He sounded truly hurt, but I wasn't going to fall for anything of his again, no matter what it was.

"Shut up! I'm done with you. Take a good look at this face, Doctor, because this is the last time you're ever going to see it!"

"Oh come on, where are you going to go exactly?" The Doctor was starting to get angry as well by now. "In case you've forgotten you haven't got anywhere to go!"

My nails dug into my skin. My teeth scraped against each other. If looks could kill, the Doctor would have been ashes falling through the grating of the TARDIS floor.

"You...how dare you?" I questioned, positively seething. "How _dare_ you? How would you fucking like it if, when you thought Gallifrey was gone, I just outright said, 'oh, by the way, just a reminder, but your home is gone? Also, everyone close to you is dead as well, and guess what? It's your fault!'"

Tears were welling up in my eyes at this point and I bit my lip. _Shit._ I hadn't meant for that last part to come out.

I stormed up to the Doctor and declared, quietly now, "the difference between you and me, is that for you, it all actually turned out to be untrue."

With that, I stormed past him and out the TARDIS doors, leaving him to contemplate my words.

I trudged as far as I could from that blasted ship, not caring where or when I was, only glad that it was something akin to summer. I stopped by a brick building with a "missing" sign on it. Someone called Alina Childe was on the poster.

Needing something good at the moment, I tried thinking back to my last moment where I truly felt at ease. Surprisingly, it wasn't that long ago. In fact, it was only a few minutes ago. I had been in Clara and Me's TARDIS, giving Me instructions on a message to implant in the TARDIS mainframe for Clara to find. My mind drifted to the message I had sent her.

 _You taught me the courage of stars before you left_

 _How life carries on endlessly even after death_

 _With shortness of breath, you explained the infinite_

 _How rare and beautiful it truly is to even exist_

 _I couldn't help but ask you to say it all again_

 _I tried to write it down but I could never find a pen_

 _I'd give anything to hear you say it one more time_

 _That the universe was made just to be seen by my eyes_

 _~Emma O_

 **Again, really sorry for the wait. I hope this chapter was enough to partially make up for the drought of chapters. I'll work much harder to get the next chapter out sooner. Hope you guys enjoyed and as always, hope you'll review!**


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